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UNIVERSITY    OF    ILLINOIS    LIBRARY    AT    URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


MAY  2  0 1»  7 
OCT  3119)1 


OCT 


r. 


THE 

rHREE-CORNERED 
HAT 


THE  BORZOI 
SPANISH  TRANSLATIONS 

i  THE  CABIN  [LA  BARRACA] 
By  V.  Blasco  Ibdnez 

II   THE  CITY  OF  THE  DISCREET 
By  Pio  Baroja 

III  MARTIN  RIVAS 

By  Alberto  Blest-Gana 

IV  THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

By  Pedro  A.  de  Alar  con 


THE     <    i 
THREE-CORNERED 

HAT 

<& 

PEDRO  A:  DE  ALARCON 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  SPANISH 
By  JACOB  S.  FASSETT,  Jr. 


NEW  YORK 

ALFRED '  A '  KNOPF 

1919 


COPYRIGHT.   1918    BY 
ALFRED  A.  KNOP1,  INC 

Published,  June,  1918 
Second  Printing ',  January,  1.019 


IN    THE    UNITED    STATES    0* 


CONTENTS 

•CHAPTER 

I  Concerning  the  Date  of  the  Occurrence.  23 

II  How  People  Lived  in  Those  Days.  27 

III  Give  and  Take.  30 
_£ 

IV  A  Woman  Viewed  from  Without.  34 

-  1 

V  A    Mian     Viewed    from    Without     and    from 
Within.  40 

VI  The  Couple's  Accomplishments.  43 

VII  The  Foundation  of  Felicity.  47 

s^    VIII  The  Man  in  the  Three-Cornered  Hat.  50 

IX  Arre,  Burra  !  56 

X  From  the  Arbour.  59 

XI  The  Bombardment  of  Pamplona.  65 

XII  Tithes  and  First-Fruits.  76 


Said  the  Pot  to  the  Kettle.  82 
. 

XIV    Garduna's  Advice.  87 


XV  A  Prosaic  Farewell.  95 

«      XVI  A  Bird  of  Evil  Portent.  103 

\    XVII  A  Country  Alcalde.  106 

XVTII  In  Which  it  is  Seen  that  Tio  Lucas  Slept  Very 
Lightly.  Ill 

XIX  Voices  Crying  in  the  Wilderness.  113 

XX  Doubt  and  Reality.  117 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

XXI  On  Guard,  Caballero!  128 

XXII  Garduiia  Outdoes  Himself.  137 

XXIII  Once  More  the   Wilderness   and  the   Aforesaic 

Voices.  142 

XXIV  A  King  in  Those  Days.  144 
XXV  Garduna's  Star.  149 

XXVI  Reaction.  153 

XXVII  In  the  King's  Name.  155 

XXVIII  Ave   Maria    Purisima!     Half -past    Twelve   anc 
All's  Well.  160 

XXIX  Post  Nubila  .  .  .  Diana.  164 

XXX  A  Lady  of  Distinction.  166 

XXXI  The  Law  of  Reprisals.  169 

XXXII  Faith  Moveth  Mountains.  178 

XXXIII  Well,  What  About  You?  182 

XXXIV  The  Corregidor>s  Wife  is  Pretty  Too !  189 
XXXV  An  Imperial  Decree.  194 

XXXVI  Conclusion,  Moral,  and  Epilogue.  198 


INTRODUCTION 


INTRODUCTION 

PEDRO  ANTONIO  DE  ALARCON  was 
the  fourth  of  ten  children.  Born  on  the 
tenth  day  of  March,  1833, /in  the  pictur- 
esque little  city  of  Guadix,  in  the  province  of 
Granada,  Spain,  he  caine  of  a  noble  and  ancient 
family  whose  considerable  fortune  had  disap- 
peared in  the  Napoleonic  wars  and  the  subsequent 
political  disorders. 

He  studied  philosophy  at  the  Guadix  Seminary 
under  a  secularized  Franciscan  monk,  and  took 
his  degree  as  a  Bachelor  in  that  subject  when  he 
was  but  fourteen  years  of  age.  In  Granada  he 
took  up  the  study  of  law,  but  the  inability  of  his 
parents  to  furnish  him  with  the  necessary  funds 
soon  forced  him  to  return  to  his  native  city,  where 
at  his  father's  request,  he  embarked  upon  the 
study  of  theology. 

Poor  as  he  was,  he  managed  somehow  to  collect 
a  considerable  library  which  embraced  books  in 

9 


INTRODUCTION 


French  and  Italian  as  well  as  in  Latin  and  Span- 
ish. French  and  Italian  being  absolutely  un- 
known tongues  to  him,  he  forthwith  set  about 
their  acquisition  by  a  rather  unusual  method. 
Among  his  possessions  were  two  copies  of  Jeru- 
salem Delivered,  one  of  which  was  in  French,  the 
other  in  his  own  tongue.  By  dint  of  infinite  pa- 
tience and  a  good  deal  of  hard  work,  he  succeeded 
in  acquiring  at  least  a  reading  knowledge  of 
French  in  an  incredibly  short  time.  He  taught 
himself  Italian  by  the  same  method. 

As  his  reading  progressed,  his>love  for  litera- 
ture grew,  and  his  taste  for  theological  studies 
decreased.  He  determined  to  become  a  writer; 
and  therefore,  as  the  first  and  most  necessary 
step  in  that  direction,  he  decided  to  go  to  Madrid. 
His  parents  did  not  look  with  favour  upon  his 
literary  ambitions,  as  they  felt  that  he  should 
continue  in  the  more  lucrative  career  that  the 
church  offered.  However  he  had  made  up  his 
mind,  and  he  cast  about  him  for  means  to  accom- 
plish his  purpose. 

Finally,  through  a  young  novelist  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, Torcuato  Tarrago,  who  lived  in 
10 


INTRODUCTION 


Guadix,  he  became  acquainted  with  a  "  cultivated 
personage  "  of  Cadiz.  The  trio  founded  a  weekly 
paper  called  El  Eco  de  Occidente,  devoted  to  lit- 
erature, science,  and  art,  and  published  in  Cadiz. 
Fortunately  the  enterprise  proved  successful,  and 
in  three  years  young  Alarcon  had  saved  what  he 
considered  sufficient  to  warrant  his  departure 
for  Madrid. 

He  left  his  home  on  January  18,  1853,  and 
reached  the  Court  without  friends  or  letters  of 
introduction,  but  with  an  ample  supply  of  money, 
and  an  abundance  of  verses  with  which  he  pur- 
posed to  astonish  the  world.  One  of  his  poems 
was  a  long  and  pretentious  conclusion  to  Es- 
pronceda's  unfinished  El  diabla  mundo.  After 
weary  weeks  of  waiting  upon  the  publishers,  dur- 
ing which  his  supply  of  money  became  nearly 
exhausted,  he  lost  faith  in  his  verses  and  burned 
them  all.  In  the  depths  of  despair,  he  returned 
to  his  home  where  he  was  welcomed  with  the 
usual  tears  of  joy  and  forgiveness.  The  prodigal 
had  meanwhile  been  drafted  for  the  army,  but  his 
parents  managed  to  purchase  his  release. 

He  soon  went  to  Granada,  where  he  continued 
^  11 


INTRODUCTION 


to  interest  himself  in  the  publication  of  El  Eco  de 
Occidente.  He  became  a  member  of  a  literary 
society  which  was  called  La  Cuerda,  and  began 
to  take  a  lively  interest  in  the  tumultuous  poli- 
tics of  the  day.  After  taking  a  personal  part  in 
the  successful  rebellion  headed  by  Cicalvaro,  he 
founded  La  Rendencion,  a  paper  in  which  he 
hurled  vigorous  polemics  against  the  clergy,  the 
army,  and  the  national  militia. 

That  same  year  he  returned  to  Madrid,  where 
his  fearlessness  and  hot-headedness  as  a  writer 
earned  him  a  considerable,  if  somewhat  question- 
able reputation.  He  was  offered  the  directorship 
of  a  scurrilous  sheet  called  El  Ldtigo  whose  sole 
policy  was  to  attack  the  Queen.  His  connection 
therewith  soon  culminated  in  a  duel  from  which 
he  came  out  alive  thanks  only  to  the  kindness  and 
generosity  of  his  adversary,  the  poet  Jose  HerL 
berto  Garcia  Quevedo. 

This  adventure  seemed  to  sober  the  boy  —  he 
was  only  twenty-one  at  the  time  —  and  he  retired 
to  Segovia  to  recover  his  health  and  spirits. 
While  there  he  decided  to  try  his  hand  at  some- 
thing a  little  more  dignified  than  political  po- 
12 


INTRODUCTION 


'emics,  and  wrote  El  final  de  Norma,  his  first 

• 

lovel.  From  that  time  until  1857  his  writings 
appeared  frequently  in  nearly  every  periodical 
of  note  in  Spain.  It  was  not  long  before  he  had 
created  a  considerable  reputation  for  himself  in 
the  domain  of  letters. 

In  1857,  El  hijo  prodigo,  his  first  and  only 
play,  was  produced  at  Madrid  in  the  Teatro  del 
Circo,  attaining  riotous  success  on  its  first  night 
in  spite  of  a  rather  hostile  audience.  The  news- 
papers, however,  which  were  nearly  all  inimical 
upon  account  of  his  former  activities,  attacked 
it  so  bitterly  that  he  removed  it  from  the  boards 
in  disgust ;  nor  would  he  ever  afterward  consent 
to  its  performance. 

That  same  year,  true  to  the  warlike  traditions 
of  Spain's  greatest  literary  figures,  he  put  down 
his  pen,  enlisted  in  the  army,  and  went  to  Africa 
under  General  O'Donnell.  He  brought  back 
from  the  war  "  a  wound,  two  crosses,  and  a  book," 
as  one  biographer  puts  it.  The  book  was  his 
Diario  de  un  testigo  de  la  guerra  de  Africa,  of 
which  fifty  thousand  copies  were  sold  in  a  fort- 
night. With  the  proceeds  he  made  a  Journey 

13 


INTRODUCTION 


to  Naples,  upon  Ms  return,  completing  a  book 
of  travel  —  De  Madrid  a  Ndpoles. 

After  1863,  his  father  having  died,  he  turned 
again  to  politics.  He  wrote  for  La  Epoca,  and 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  La  Politica,  a  period- 
ical devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  Liberal  party. 
During  this  period,  he  was  diputado  from  Guadix 
several  times.  His  marriage  in  Granada  to 
Doiia  Paulina  Contrera  y  Reyes  in  1866  seemed 
to  modify  his  political  views  considerably,  for  in 
that  year  he  signed  the  celebrated  protest  of  the 
Unionists  and  was  sent  into  exile  at  Paris. 
From  Paris  he  went  to  Granada  where  he  wrote 
an  epic  poem  entitled  Suspiro  del  moro,  for  which 
he  received  the  Liceo  Gold  Medal  in  1867.  The 
following  year  he  supported  the  candidacy  to  the 
throne  of  the  Duke  of  Montpensier.  He  re- 
mained neutral  during  the  short-lived  Republic, 
but  when  the  Monarchy  was  restored  in  1874,  the 
ardent  Republican  of  El  Ldtigo  finally  became  a 
dignified  Conservative ! 

In  1873  began  a  period  of  literary  activity 
which  lasted,  with  a  few  interruptions  of  a  politi- 
cal nature,  until  the  years  immediately  preceding 
14 


• 

INTRODUCTION 


his  death.  Among  the  products  of  his  pen  at  this 
time  were  La  Alpujarra,  El  sombrero  df  tres 
picos,  El  escdndalo,  El  niiio  de  la  bola,  La  prod- 
igaj  and  El  Capitdn  Veneno.  He  was  appointed 
Councillor  of  State  in  1875.  and  in  the  same  year 

/  «> 

received  the  Grand  Cross  of  Isabella  the  Catho- 
lic in  recognition  of  his  book  on  the  African  war 
and  his  services  in  that  campaign.  On  Decem- 
ber 15,  1875,  he  was  elected  to  the  Spanish  Acad- 
emy. He  died  in  Madrid  on  the  19th  of  July, 
1891,  after  an  illness  of  prolonged  duration. 

Of  his  personality,  Mariano  Catalina,  one  of 
his  biographers,  speaks  as  follows: 

"  Alarcon  is  of  a  bright  and  jovial  disposition, 
simple  in  manner,  and  yet  most  delightful  in  his 
conversation :  he  is  loval  and  affectionate  to  his 

w 

friends,  considering  the  real  ones  as  members 
of  his  own  family;  and  his  house,  where  he  is 
accustomed  to  bring  them  together  frequently, 
is  one  of  the  few  in  which  the  time  passes  with- 
out sense  of  its  flight.  His  vigorous  intelligence, 
and  his  keen  and  ready  wit,  are  now  in  their 
apogee;  he  has  besides  experience  and  the  tran- 
quillity of  spirit  that  heretofore  he  has  on  oc- 

15 


INTRODUCTION 


casion  lacked,  and  we  are  not  hazarding  a  great 
deal  by  asserting  boldly  that  great  and  deserving 
as  Alarcon's  literary  reputation  has  been  in  the 
past,  his  future  holds  for  him  one  still  greater 
and  more  solid." 

The  last  years  of  his  life  were  largely  devoted 
to  collecting  and  revising  his  works,  which  were 
later  published  in  nineteen  volumes.  Three  vol- 
umes contain  short  stories,  called  Novelas  Cor- 

• 

tas;  there  are  four  long  novels,  El  escdndalo,  La 
prodiga,  El  final  de  Norma,  and  El  nino  de  la 
bola;  two  short  novels,  El  Capitdn  Veneno 
(which  contains  his  Historia  de  mis  libros),  and 
El  sombrero  de  tres  picos;  one  volume  of  genre 
sketches,  Cosas  que  fueron;  three  of  travels, 
Viajes  por  Espana  (1  vol.)  and  De  Madrid  a 
Ndpoles  (2  vols.) ;  a  historic-geographical  study, 
La  Alpujarra;  a  book  of  essays,  Juicios  litera- 
rios;  one  of  verse;  and  the  Diario  de  un  testigo 
de  la  guerra  de  Africa  in  three  volumes. 

Of  this  list,  only  two  are  at  all  well  known 
in  this  country:  El  Capitdn  Veneno,  and  El 
sombrero  de  tres  picos,  both  of  which  have  been 
edited  for  schoolroom  use.  These,  with  the 
16 


INTRODUCTION 


Diario  de  un  testiyo  de  la  guerra  de  Africa  are 
considered  his  best  productions. 

But  it  is  El  sombrero  de  tres  picos  (The  Three- 
Corncrcd  Hat)  that  is  here  of  chief  concern. 
This  story  is  considered  to  be  his  master- 
piece, and  will  doubtless  live  long  after  his  other 
works  are  forgotten.  It  has  been  translated  into 
several  languages,  but  is  now  for  the  first  time 
introduced  to  the  English-reading  public.  It  has 
been  dramatized  and  used  as  the  basis  of  four 
comic  operas  in  as  many  different  tongues.  One 
cannot  read  the  story  without  remarking  upon  its 
perfect  adaptability  to  the  stage.  It  was  writ- 
ten in  1874  and  appeared  first  serially  in  the 
Revista  Europea.  It  was  printed  and  published 
in  book  form  very  soon  after  its  appearance  as  a 
serial,  and  was  received  with  immediate  popu- 
larity. 

I  cannot  do  better  here  than  quote  from  the 
excellent  introduction  by  Professor  Benjamin  P. 
Bourland,  which  he  has  prefixed  to  his  edition  of 
the  Spanish  text.1 

"  The  success  of  the  story  was  immediate  and 

i  Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  N.  Y.     1907. 

17 


INTRODUCTION 


deserved.  The  pseudo-modest  praise,  '  the  least 
bad  of  my  books,'  applied  by  Alarcon  to  El  Es- 
cdndalo,  might  be  transferred  and  made  positive 
here.  The  skill  of  construction,  the  exact  sense 
of  propriety  that  preserves  every  decency  while 
yielding  no  shred  of  the  interest,  the  really  admi- 
rable dialogue,  and  the  beautifully  Spanish  at- 
mosphere of  it  all,  make  us  wish  that  the  author's 
judgment  had  led  him  oftener  into  these  ways, 
where  alone  his  desire  fails  to  outrun  his  per- 
formance. ...  It  is  worthy  of  the  rank  it  holds 
among  the  longer  short  stories  of  literature,  a 
strong,  objective  piece  of  work,  without  shade  of 
self-consciousness;  a  fine  story,  in  short,  admi- 
rably told.  Aside  from  its  purely  aesthetic  value, 
the  book  is  a  precious  document  to  the  student 
of  the  history  of  manners  and  customs  in  Spain, 
both  in  its  lines  and  in  the  much  that  is  to  be  read 
between  them." 

There  has  been  much  discussion  about  the 
origin  of  the  tale.  I  think  we  may  accept  Alar- 
c6n's  own  statement  as  to  where  he  got  it.1  Un- 
doubtedly the  plot  in  one  form  or  another  is  con- 

i  See  the  Author's  Preface. 
18 


INTRODUCTION 


siderably  older  than  its  appearance  in  Spain  in 
the  ballad  form.  It  has  been  traced  to  the  Deca- 
meron as  its  source ;  others  assert  that  Boccaccio 
was  by  no  means  its  inventor.  But  it  is  useless 
to  pursue  the  subject  further.  We  are  chiefly 
concerned  with  the  form  which  the  genius  of 
Alarcon  gave  to  his  material. 

"  For  a  long  time  we  have  been  accustomed  to 
recognize  in  the  novels  of  Alarcon  his  faculty  of 
invention,  his  wit,  and  a  subtle  and  enchanting 
spirit,  French  in  origin  and  tradition,  which  he 
expressed  with  rare  dexterity  and  ease.  Now  he 
has  seen  fit  to  reveal  himself  to  us  as  a  skilful 
painter  of  splendid  quality,  a  most  faithful  and 
capable  exponent  of  the  best  traditions  of  the 
Spanish  school,  as  one  accustomed  to  dip  the  pen 
of  Quevedo  into  the  palette  of  Goya. 

"And  it  is  the  canvases  of  Goya,  more  than 
anything  else,  that  this  little  picture  of  manners, 
this  genre  picture,  as  it  is  called  nowadays, 
entitled  El  sombrero  de  ires  picos,  most  resem- 
bles. One  sees  in  it  the  freshness  and  vigour  of 
colouring  of  the  creator  of  Los  caprichos,  his 
mischievous  and  easy-going  types,  his  strong  ac- 

19 


INTRODUCTION 


centuations  of  light  and  shade,  and  his  admirable 
lightness  of  touch  .  .  ." 

This  from  the  able  pen  of  Luis  Alfonso  in  his 
foreword  to  El  sombrero  de  tres  picos.  Alfonso 
adds  that  with  this  work,  Alarcon  restored 
to  Spain  "  the  numerous  riches  of  the  old  and 
glorious  literature  of  the  country,"  and  concludes 
by  urging  the  public  to  read  the  story,  for  then 
"  you  will  feel  yourselves  only  a  little  less  grate- 
ful to  me  than  to  the  novelist  who  has  so  capti* 
vated  and  delighted  your  spirits." 

J.  S.  F., 
Cambridge,  Mass., 

January,  191& 


20 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 


21 


r.  f. 

-     ~'-??  ' 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 


CONCERNING  THE  DATE  OF  THE  OCCURRENCE 

IT  was  toward  the  beginning  of  the  long  cen- 
tury which  is  now  drawing  to  a  close.     We 
do  not  know  the  exact  year :  we  can  only  be 
certain  that  it  was  after  1804,  and  before  1808. 
Don  Carlos  IV  still  reigned  in  Spain  —  by  the 
grace  of  God,  according  to  the  coins,  and  by  the 
forgetfulness  or  especial  grace  of  Bonaparte,  ac- 
cording to  the  French  bulletins.     The  other  Eu- 
ropean sovereigns  who  were  descendants  of  Luis 
XIV  had  already  lost  their  crowns  (and  the  chief 
of  them  his  head)  in  the  violent  storm  that  had 
been  raging  in  this  ancient  part  of  the  world  since 
1789. 

Nor  did  the  peculiarity  that  characterized  our 
fatherland  in  those  times  stop  here.    The  Soldier 

23 


THE,  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

of  the  Revolution,  the  son  of  an  obscure  Corsican 
lawyer,  the  conqueror  of  Rivoli,  of  the  Pyramids, 
of  Marengo  and  of  a  hundred  other  battles,  had 
just  donned  the  crown  of  Charlemagne  and  com- 
pletely transfigured  Europe;  creating  and  abol- 
ishing nations,  wiping  out  frontiers,  inventing 
dynasties  and  changing  the  shape,  the  name,  the 
situation,  the  customs  and  even  the  dress  of  the 
villages  through  which  he  rode  on  his  charger 
like  an  animated  earthquake,  or  like  the  "  Anti- 
christ," as  the  powers  of  the  North  called  him. 
.  .  .  Nevertheless,  our  fathers  (God  rest  their 
souls),  far  from  hating  or  fearing  him,  amused 
themselves  by  extolling  his  extraordinary  deeds, 
as  if  they  had  reference  to  a  hero  in  a  book  of 
chivalry,  or  to  things  that  take  place  on  another 
planet  —  never  in  their  wildest  dreams  fearing 
that  he  might  some  day  take  it  into  his  head  to 
come  here  and  attempt  the  atrocities  he  had  per- 
petrated in  Prance,  Italy,  Germany  and  other 
countries.  Once  a  week  (or  twice  at  the  most) 
the  Madrid  post  arrived  at  most  of  the  impor- 
tant settlements  of  the  Peninsula,  bringing  some 
number  of  the  Gaceta  ( which  was  no  more  regu- 
24 


THE  DATE  OF  THE  OCCURRENCE 

lar  than  the  post  in  its  habits) ;  and  through  it 
the  principal  personages  learned  (if,  by  chance, 
the  Gaceta  gave  details)  whether  there  existed  a 
state  more  or  less  beyond  the  Pyrenees ;  whether 
there  had  been  another  battle  in  which  six  or 
eight  kings  and  emperors  had  taken  part;  and 
whether  Napoleon  was  in  Milan,  Brussels,  or 
Warsaw.  .  .  .  For  the  rest,  our  forefathers  went 
on  living  the  old-fashioned  Spanish  life,  very 
leisurely,  clinging  to  their  antiquated  customs; 
in  the  peace  and  grace  of  God;  with  their  In- 
quisition and  their  friars ;  with  their  picturesque 
legal  inequality;  with  their  privileges,  rights, 
and  personal  exemptions;  with  their  lack  of  mu- 
nicipal or  political  freedom;  governed  simul- 
taneously by  distinguished  bishops  and  powerful 
corregidors  (whose  respective  powers  were  not 
easily  disentangled,  since  each  was  concerned 
with  things  temporal  and  eternal) ;  and  paying 
tithes,  first-fruits,  excises,  war  taxes,  legacies 
and  forced  alms,  rents  —  big  and  little  —  poll 
taxes,  royal  thirds,  duties,  income  taxes,  and 
about  fifty  other  tributes  whose  nomenclature 
does  not  come  to  mind  at  present. 

25 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT  . 

And  here  endeth  all  that  the  present  story  has 
to  do  with  the  military  and  political  affairs  of 
that  epoch ;  since  our  only  object  in  referring  to 
what  was  happening  then  in  the  world  was  to  get 
at  the  fact  that  in  the  year  which  concerns  us 
(let  us  say  1805)  the  old  regime  still  held  sway 
in  Spain  in  all  circles  of  public  and  private  life 
—  as  if,  in  the  midst  of  so  many  innovations  and 
upsets,  the  Pyrenees  had  been  converted  into  an- 
other Wall  of  China. 


26 


II 

HOW   PEOPLE  LIVED  IN  THOSE  DAYS 

N  Andalusia,  for  example  (and  it  was  in  an 

"*    ^ ^M^Mn^B^  .      ••  ^ 

Andalusian  city  that  what  you  are  about  to 
hear  took  place),  persons  of  distinction  were 
still  in  the  habit  of  rising  very  early  in  the 
morning;  going  to  the  Cathedral  for  early  mass, 
even  if  it  were  not  a  day  of  holy  obligation; 
breakfasting  at  nine  o'clock  upon  a  fried  egg,  a 
cup  of  chocolate,  and  fried  bread ;  dining  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  upon  a  stew  and  an  en- 
tr6e  if  there  was  any  game,  and,  if  there  was 
none,  upon  stew  alone ;  taking  a  siesta  after  eat- 
ing; strolling  in  the  country  after  that;  count- 
ing their  rosaries  at  twilight  in  their  respective 
parish-churches ;  taking  another  cup  of  chocolate 
after  early  candle-light  prayer  (this  time  with 
biscuits) ;  attending  (if  they  were  very  presump- 
tuous) the  coterie  of  the  corregidor,  or  of  the 

27 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

dean,  or  of  the  titled  personage  who  resided  in  the 
village;  withdrawing  to  their  own  homes  at  the 
tolling  of  the  bell  for  seven  o'clock  prayers ;  clos- 
ing the  outer  door  before  curfew ;  supping  upon 
salad  and  fricassee  if  there  were  no  fresh  ancho- 
vies; and  retiring  forthwith  with  their  wives 
(those  who  had  them),  not  without  first  having 
heated  the  bed  —  at  least  during  nine  months  of 
the  year.  .  .  . 

Happiest  of  days,  those  in  which  our  country 
continued  in  quiet  and  peaceful  possession  of  all 
the  cobwebs,  all  the  dust,  all  the  mustiness,  all 
the  respects,  all  the  beliefs,  all  the  traditions,  all 
the  uses  and  all  the  abuses  that  had  been  sancti- 
fied by  centuries!  Happiest  of  days,  those  in 
which  there  was  a  variety  of  classes,  of  affec- 
tions, and  of  customs  in  human  society!  Hap- 
piest of  days,  I  say  —  especially  for  the  poets, 
who  found  a  curtain-raiser,  a  postlude,  a  com- 
edy, a  drama,  a  religious  play,  or  an  epic  around 
every  corner,  instead  of  the  prosaic  uniformity 
and  tasteless  realism  that  came  to  us  at  the  end 
of  the  French  Revolution!  Happiest  of  days 
indeed!  .  .  . 
28 


HOW  PEOPLE  LIVED  IN  THOSE  DAYS 

But  this  is  retracing  our  steps.  Enough  of 
generalities ( and  circumlocutions;  let  us  enter 
resolutely  upon  the  story  of  the  Three-Cornered, 
Hat. 


29 


Ill 

GIVE  AND  TAKE 

ELL,  at  that  time,  near  the  city  of 

,  there  was  a  famous  grist  mill 

(which  no  longer  exists),  situated 
about  a  quarter  of  a  league  from  the  city,  be- 
tween the  foot  of  a  gentle  slope  covered  with 
mazard  and  cherry  trees,  and  a  very  fertile 
meadow  which  served  as  a  margin  (and  some- 
times as  a  bed)  for  the  intermittent  and  treach- 
erous excuse  for  a  river. 

For  many  and  diverse  reasons  that  mill  had 
been  for  some  time  the  favourite  point  of  arrival 
and  repose  for  the  most  distinguished  prome- 
naders  of  the  aforesaid  city —  Firstly,  it  was 
approached  by  a  wagon  road  which  was  less  im- 
passable than  the  others  in  the  vicinity.  In  the 
second  place,  in  front  of  the  mill  there  was  a 
small,  paved  courtyard  covered  by  an  enormous 
30 


GIVE  AND  TAKE 


grape  arbour  beneath  which  it  was  pleasant  to 
enjoy  the  shade  in  the  summer,  and  the  sun  in 
the  winter  —  thanks  to  the  alternate  coming  and 
going  of  the  grape  leaves.  In  the  third  place, 
the  miller  was  very  respectful,  very  discreet,  and 
very  courteous;  a  man  who  possessed  what  is 
called  the  gift  of  getting  on  with  people,  and  who 
used  to  entertain  the  distinguished  gentlemen 
who  honoured  him  with  their  vespertine  assem- 
blage, by  offering  them  —  whatever  happened  to 
be  in  season :  string  beans,  cherries  and  mazard 
berries,  lettuce,  on  the  stalk  and  unseasoned 
( which  is  very  good  when  accompanied  by  maca- 
roons —  macaroons  which  their  worships  took  it 
upon  themselves  to  send  on  ahead),  melons, 
grapes  from  the  very*  arbour  that  served  them  as 
a  canopy,  popcorn,  if  it  were  winter,  and  roasted 
chestnuts,  and  almonds,  and  walnuts,  and  now 
and  then  on  very  cold  afternoons,  a  draught  of 
home-made  wine  ( inside  uie  house  by  the  heat  of 
the  fire),  to  which  on  feast  days  it  was  the  cus- 
tom to  add  fritters,  cream-cakes,  doughnuts,  or 
a  slice  of  Alpuj arras  ham. 
"  Was  the  miller  so  rich,  or  were  the  members 

31 


THE  THHEE-CORNERED  HAT 

of  the  coterie  so  inconsiderate?  "  jou  will  inter- 
rupt me  by  exclaiming. 

Neither  the  one  thing  nor  the  other.  The 
miller  only  made  one  living,  and  those  gentlemen 
were  delicacy  and  pride  personified.  But  at  a 
time  when  one  paid  fifty -odd  different  contribu- 
tions to  the  Church  and  to  the  State,  a  country- 
man of  his  clearness  of  perception  risked  very 
little  in  gaining  the  good  will  of  town  council- 
lors, canons,  friars,  clerks,  and  other  personages. 
Thus  it  is  that  there  were  many  who  declared 
that  Tio  Lucas  (for  such  was  the  millers  name) 
saved  a  large  amount  of  money  annually  by  en- 
tertaining everybody  so  lavishly. 
fc  "  Your  Honour  will  give  me  an  old  door  from 
the  house  you  tore  down/?  he  would  say  to  one. — 
"  Your  Worship/7  he  would  say  to  another,  "  will 
order  them  to  reduce  my  war-tax,  or  my  excise- 
tax,  or  my  income-tax." —  "Your  Reverence 
will  let  me  pick  a  few  leaves  in  the  convent  gar- 
den for  my  silk- worms." —  "Your  Lordship 
will  give  me  permission  to  haul  a  little  firewood 
from  Mount  X." —  u  Your  Reverence  will  write 
a  couple  of  lines  so  they  will  let  me  cut  some 
32 


GIVE  AND  TAKE 


wood  from  H *s  pine  grove." —  **  Your  Wor- 

flhip  most  write  me  a  little  •BM""fW"£  that  won't 
cost  me  anything." —  u  I  cannot  pay  the  pott- 
tax  this  year."—  "  I  hope  the  lawsuit  will  be 
decided  in  my  f avour.** —  u  I  struck  a  man  to- 
day, and  I  think  he  ought  to  go  to  jafl  for  having 
provoked  me,*" —  "Has  Your  Worship  enough 
of  such  and  such  a  thing  to  spare?  "*• —  "  Is  that 
other  thing  of  anj  nse  to  you?  ** —  *  C5an  you 
lend  me  jour  mule?  " —  "Will  jour  cart  be  busy 
tomorrow?77 —  "  Do  you  think  I  might  send  for 
your  donkey?  *" — 

And  these  songs  were  repeated  continually  — 
always  obtaining  the  generous  and  disinterested 
answer  of  — K  As  you  irish.9* 

So  now  you  see  that  Tio  Lucas  was  not  exactly 
on  the  road  to  ruin. 


IV 

A   WOMAN   VIEWED   FROM    WITHOUT 

THE  final  and  perhaps  most  powerful  rea- 
son the  aristocracy  of  the  city  had  for 
frequenting  Tio  Lucas'  mill  in  the  after- 
noons, was  that  both  the  clergy  and  the  laymen, 
beginning  with  the  Senor  Bishop  and  the  Senor 
Corregidor,  were  able  there  to  contemplate  at 
their  leisure  one  of  the  most  lovely,  most  gra- 
cious, and  most  admirable  creations  to  ever  come 
from  the  hands  of  God,  who  in  those  days  was 
called  the  Supreme  Being  by  Jovellanos  and  all 
the  gallicized  school  of  our  country.  .  .  . 

This  creation  was  called  "  Sena  Frasquita." 
I  shall  begin  by  informing  you  that  Sena  Fras- 
quita, the  legitimate  spouse  of  Tio  Lucas,  was  a 
woman  of  supreme  virtue,  and  that  all  the  illus- 
trious visitors  at  the  mill  were  awrare  of  this.     I 

i  SeM  is  a  little  less  formal  than  Senora,  of  which  it  is 
a  corruption. 

34 


A  WOMAN  VIEWED  FROM  WITHOUT 

venture  further :  not  one  of  them  gave  evidence  of 
looking  upon  her  with  lustful  eyes,  or  with  any 
sinful  mental  reservations.  They  admired  her, 
yes ;  and  paid  court  to  her  (before  her  husband,  of 
course)-  -  friars  as  well  as  laymen,  canons  as  well 
as  magistrates  -  -  as  a  prodigy  of  beauty  who  did 
honour  to  her  Creator ;  and  asja  roguish  and  co- 
quettish minx  who  innocently  gave  pleasure  to  the 
most  melancholy  of  souls. — "  She  is  a  beautiful 
animal,''  the  most  virtuous  Prelate  was  wont  to 
say. — "  She  is  a  statue  of  Greek  antiquity,"  ob- 
served a  very  erudite  lawyer  who  was  a  corre- 
sponding member  of  the  Academy  of  History. — 
"  She  is  the  very  archetype  of  Eve,"  pronounced 
the  Prior  of  the  Franciscans. — "  She  is  a  splendid 
woman,"  exclaimed  a  Colonel  of  the  militia. — 
"  She  is  a  serpent,  a  siren,  a  she-devil ! '  added 
the  Corregidor. — "  But,  she  is  a  good  woman,  an 
angel,  a  dear,  a  four-year-old  child,"  they  all 
ended  by  remarking  on  their  return  from  the  mill, 
stuffed  with  grapes  and  nuts,  in  search  of  their 
own  gloomy  and  commonplace  firesides. 

The  four-year-old  girl  -  -  that  is,  Seiia  Fras- 
quita,  was  probably  nearing  her  thirties.     She 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

was  more  than  two  ells  tall,  and  stout  in  propor- 
tion —  or  perhaps  a  little  heavier  than  was 
proper  for  her  proud  height.  Although  she  had 
never  had  any  children,  she  was  like  a  colossal 
Niobe:  she  resembled  a  (female)  Hercules:  she 
looked  like  a  Roman  matron  of  the  type  that  is 
found  in  Trastevere.  .  .  .  But  the  most  notable 
thing  about  her  was  the  mobility,  the  nimbleness, 
the  animation,  the  grace  of  her  imposing  stature. 
She  lacked  the  monumental  repose  essential  in  a 
statue  such  as  the  academician  insisted  she  was. 
She  could  bend  like  a  reed,  whirl  like  a  weather- 
vane,  and  dance  like  a  top.  Her  face  was  still 
more  mobile  than  her  body,  and  therefore  less 
sculptural.  As  many  as  five  dimples  enlivened  it 
charmingly:  two  were  in  one  cheek,  one  in  the 
other,  another,  a  very  small  one,  near  the  left 
commisure  of  her  smiling  lips,  and  the  last,  a  very 
large  one,  in  the  middle  of  her  round  chin.  Add 
to  this  the  roguish  gestures,  the  gracious  winks, 
and  the  different  postures  of  her  head  that 
adorned  her  conversation,  and  you  will  form  an 
idea  of  that  face,  so  full  of  wit  and  beauty,  and 
ever-radiant  with  health  and  good  spirits. 
36 


A  WOMAN  VIEWED  FROM  WITHOUT 

Neither  Send  Frasquita  nor  Tio  Lucas  was  an 
Andalusian :  she  was  a  Navarrese,  and  he  a  Mur- 

cian.     He  had  come  to  the  city  of when  he 

was  fifteen  years  old  as  a  half  page,  half  servant 
to  the  bishop  who  was  the  immediate  predecessor 
of  the  one  in  the  present  narrative.  His  patron 
had  him  educated  for  the  clergy,  and  perhaps 
with  this  end  in  view,  and  in  order  to  assure  him 
the  proper  income,  left  him  the  mill  as  a  legacy. 
But  Tio  Lucas,  who  at  the  time  of  His  Lordship's 
death  had  only  taken  minor  orders,  hung  up  his 
vestments  then  and  there,  and  enlisted  as  a  sol- 
dier, more  desirous  of  seeing  the  world  and  having 
adventures  than  of  saying  mass  and  grinding 
wheat.  In  1793  he  took  part  in  the  campaign  of 
the  Western  Pyrenees  as  orderly  to  the  valiant 
General  Don  Ventura  Caro;  was  present  at  the 
assault  on  Chateau  Pignon;  and  remained  for  a 
long  time  in  the  northern  provinces  where  he 
obtained  his  discharge.  He  met  Sena  Frasquita 
in  Estella  when  she  was  called  simply  Frasquita; 
fell  in  love  with  her;  married  her,  and  brought 
her  to  Andalusia  in  search  of  the  mill  where  they 
were  to  live  peacefully  and  happily  throughout 

37 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

the  rest  of  their  peregrination  through  this  vale 
oft  tears  and  laughter. 

Translated  from  Navarre  to  that  solitude,  Send 
Frasquita,  not  having  acquired  a  single  Andalu- 
sian  custom,  was  very  different  from  the  country- 
women in  her  vicinity.  She  dressed  with  more 
simplicity,  more  freedom,  and  more  dignity  than 
they ;  bathed  more  frequently ;  and  permitted  the 
sun  and  air  to  caress  her  bare  arms  and  uncov- 
ered throat. 

Up  to  a  certain  point,  she  dressed  as  the  ladies 
of  that  period  dressed ;  as  Goya's  women  did ;  or 
Queen  Maria  Luisa.  Her  skirt  was  rather  nar- 
row—  though  not  enough  so  to  hamper  her 
movements-  -and  extremely  short;  disclosing 
her  tiny  feet  and  the  curve  of  her  superb  leg. 
Her  neck  was  cut  round  and  low  -  -  after  the 
style  in  Madrid,  where  she  stayed  with  her  Lucas 
for  two  months  on  her  way  from  Navarre  to  An- 
dalusia. Her  hair  was  caught  up  at  the  top  of 
her  crown,  bringing  the  grace  of  her  head  and 
neck  into  pleasing  prominence.  An  ear-ring  hung 
from  each  diminutive  ear,  and  there  were  many 
rings  upon  the  shapely  fingers  of  her  rough  but 
38 


A  WOMAN  VIEWED  FROM  WITHOUT 

clean  hands.  Lastly:  Send  Frasquita's  voice 
embraced  all  the  tones  of  the  largest  and  most 
melodious  of  instruments ;  and  her  laugh  was  so 
gay  and  silvery  that  it  was  like  a  peal  of  bells  on 
Holy  Saturday. 

Now  let  us  picture  Tio  Lucas. 


39 


A  MAN  VIEWED  FROM  WITHOUT  AND  FROM  WITHIN 

TIO  LUCAS  was  uglier  than  sin.     He  had 
been  so  all  his  life,  and  he  was  very 
nearly  forty.     Nevertheless,  God  has  put 
on  earth  few  men  as  attractive  and  agreeable  as 
he.     Captivated  by  his  liveliness  and  talent  and 
wit,  the  defunct  bishop  had  begged  his  parents  - 
who  were  shepherds,  not  of  souls,  but  of  real 
sheep  —  to  let  him  take  the  lad.     When  His  Rev- 
erence died,  and  the  lad  had  forsaken  the  semi- 
nary for  the  barracks,  General  Caro  singled  him 
out  from  the  whole  army   and  made  him  his 
special  orderly,  his  veritable  campaign  servant, 
i  When  at  last  his  military  duty  was  completed,  it 
!  was  as  easy  for  Tio  Lucas  to  subdue  the  heart  of 
.Send  Frasquita  as  it  had  been  for  him  to  capti- 
vate the  esteem  of  the  general  and  of  the  prelate. 
The  Navarrese,  who  at  that  time  had  seen  some 
40 


A  MAN  VIEWED  FROM  WITHOUT 

twenty  Aprils,  and  was  the  "  right  eye  "  of  all  the 
lads  in  Estella  —  some  of  whom  were  fairly  rich 
—  was  unable  to  resist  the  continual  jests,  the 
witty  ideas,  the  glances  of  a  love-sick  monkey, 
and  the  clownish  and  constant  smile,  full  of  mis- 
chief and  sweetness  too,  of  that  Murcian  who  was 
so  bold,  so  loquacious,  so  capable,  so  valiant,  and 
so  gracious,  that  he  ended  by  upsetting  the  judg- 
ment not  only  of  the  envied  beauty  but  of  her 
father  and  mother  as  well. 

Lucas  was  at  that  time,  and  continued  to  be  up 
to  the  date  of  our  story,  very  small  of  stature  (at 
least  as  compared  to  his  wife),  somewhat  hunch- 
backed, very  dark,  thinly  bearded,  large-nosed, 
long-eared,  and  pock-marked.  On  the  other 
hand,  his  mouth  was  not  bad,  and  his  teeth  were 
unsurpassed.  One  might  say  that  only  the  man's 
bark  was  rough  and  ugly,  and  that  his  perfec- 
tions appeared  as  soon  as  one  began  to  get  be- 
neath the  surface.  These  perfections  commenced 
with  his  teeth.  Then  came  his  voice  —  vibrant, 
elastic,  attractive;  virile  and  solemn  at  times, 
sweet  and  honeyed  when  he  asked  for  anything, 
and  always  difficult  to  resist.  Next  came  the 

41 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

things  that  his  voice  said:  most  opportune,  dis- 
creet, witty,  persuasive.  .  .  .  And  lastly,  in  Tio 
Lucas'  soul  were  courage,  loyalty,  honesty,  com- 
mon sense,  a  desire  to  learn,  and  an  instinctive 
or  empirical  knowledge  of  many  things,  a  pro- 
found contempt  for  fools,  whatever  their  social 
category,  and  a  certain  spirit  of  irony,  of  mock- 
ery, and  of  sarcasm  that  made  him  seem  —  at 
least  in  the  Academician's  eyes  —  like  a  Don 
Francisco  de  Quevedo  in  the  ro^gh. 

Such,  both  within  and  without,  was  Tio  Lucas. 


42 


VI 

THE  COUPLE'S  ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

SENA  FRASQUITA  loved  Tio  Lucas  madly, 
and  considered  herself  the  happiest 
woman  in  the  world  because  he  returned 
her  affection.  As  we  have  already  said,  they  had 
no  children,  and  each  set  about  taking  care  of  and 
spoiling  the  other  with  an  indescribable  eager- 
ness ;  but  without  their  tender  solicitude  acquir- 
ing the  disgusting  and  fawningly  sentimental 
character  so  common  in  most  couples  who  are 
without  issue.  On  the  contrary:  they  treated 
each  other  with  a  simplicity,  a  joyousness,  a 
good-natured  fellowship,  and  a  confidence  like 
that  of  two  children,  who  as  comrades  in  games 
and  sports,  love  each  other  with  all  their  hearts 
and  never  say  so  -  -  nor  do  they  themselves  realize 
the  extent  of  their  feelings.  "- 

It  does  not  seem  possible  that  there  could  ever 

43 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

have  existed  on  this  earth  a  miller  who  was  better 
groomed,  better  dressed,  more  pampered  at  table, 
or  surrounded  with  more  comforts  than  Tio 
Lucas!  It  seems  impossible  that  any  miller's 
wife,  or  any  queen,  for  that  matter,  could  ever 
have  been  the  object  of  as  many  attentions,  of  as 
many  caresses,  of  as  many  favours,  as  was  Sena 
Frasquita!  It  also  seems  impossible  that  any 
mill  could  have  contained  so  many  necessary, 
useful,  agreeable,  diverting,  and  even  superfluous 
things  as  that  which  is  to  serve  as  a  theatre  for 
nearly  the  entire  action  of  the  present  story! 

One  of  the  things  that  contributed  to  this  was 
the  fact  that  Sena  Frasquita,  the  beautiful,  in- 

t 

dustrious,  strong,  and  healthy  Navarrese,  knew 
how  to,  liked  to,  and  was  able  to  cook,  sew,  em- 
broider, swTeep,  make  candy,  wash,  iron,  white- 
wash the  house,  polish  the  brass,  bake,  weave, 
knit,  sing,  dance,  play  the  guitar  and  the  casta- 
nets, play  cards,  and  do  many  many  other  things 
whose  enumeration  would  be  interminable.  And 
a  thing  that  contributed  no  less  to  the  same  end, 
was  the  fact  that  Tio  Lucas  knew  how  to,  liked  to, 
and  was  able  to  run  the  mill,  cultivate  the  field, 
44 


THE  COUPLE'S  ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

hunt,  fish,  act  as  a  carpenter,  as  a  blacksmith  and 
as  a  mason,  assist  his  wife  in  all  the  little  tasks 
about  the  house,  read,  write,  sing,  etc.,  etc.  .  .  . 

All  this  without  mentioning  his  specialties,  or, 
if  you  will,  his  accomplishments  extraordi- 
nary .  .  . 

For  example:  Tio  Lucas  adored  flowers  (as 
did  his  wife),  and  was  such  a  consummate  horti- 
culturalist  that,  by  means  of  laborious  combina- 
tions, he  had  even  succeeded  in  producing  en- 
tirely new  specimens.  He  was  something  of  a 
natural  engineer,  which  he  had  demonstrated  by 
constructing  a  press,  a  siphon  conduit,  and  an 
aqueduct  which  tripled  the  water-power  for  the 
mill.  He  had  taught  a  dog  how  to  dance,  domes- 
ticated a  snake,  and  trained  a  parrot  to  tell  the 
time  by  screeching  as  it  watched  a  sun-dial  which 
the  miller  had  drawn  upon  a  wall ;  the  result  of 
which  wras  that  the  bird  could  soon  tell  the  hour 
with  great  precision,  even  on  cloudy  days  and  in 
the  night  time. 

Lastly :  close  to  the  mill  was  a  garden  that  pro- 
duced all  kinds  of  fruits  and  vegetables;  a  pool 
enclosed  in  a  sort  of  kiosk  made  of  jasmines  where 

45 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

Tio  Lucas  and  Sena  Frasquita  bathed  in  the  sum- 
mer time;  a  flower  garden;  a  hot-house  or  con- 
servatory for  exotic  plants ;  a  fountain  of  drink- 
ing water;  two  burras  l  upon  which  the  couple 
rode  to  the  City  or  to  the  neighbouring  villages; 
a  hen-house ;  a  dove-cote ;  an  aviary ;  a  fishery ;  a 
silk-worm  nursery ;  bee-hives  whose  bees  fed  upon 
the  jasmines ;  a  wine-press  or  pit  with  its  appur- 
tenant cellar  —  both  in  miniature ;  an  oven ;  a 
loom ;  a  forge;  a  carpenter  shop ;  etc.,  etc. :  all  en- 
compassed in  a  house  with  eight  rooms,  and  in 
two-thirds  of  an  acre  of  land,  valued  at  ten  thou- 
sand reales.1 

i  Burra :  a  female  donkey, 
i  Real :  about  five  cents. 


46 


VII 

THE   FOUNDATION   OF   FELICITY 

YES,  the  miller  and  his  wife  were  quite 
mad  about  each  other,  and,  in  spite  of 
his  being  so  ugly  and  she  so  pretty,  one 
might  even  have  fancied  that  she  loved  him  more 
than  he  loved  her.  I  say  this  because  SeM  Fras- 
quita  used  to  get  jealous  and  ask  Tio  Lucas  for  an 
account  of  himself  when  he  was  very  late  in  re- 
turning from  the  City,  or  from  the  villages  where 
he  had  gone  for  grain;  while  Tio  Lucas  beheld 
even  with  pleasure  the  attentions  of  which  SeiiA 
Frasquita  was  the  object  on  the  part  of  the  gen- 
tlemen who  frequented  the  mill;  he  was  very 
proud  and  happy  that  she  charmed  others  as 
much  as  she  did  him  :  and,  although  in  the  bottom 
of  his  heart  he  realized  that  some  of  them  envied/ 
him ;  that  they  coveted  her  as  mere  mortals,  and 

47 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

would  have  given  anything  had  she  been  a  less 
virtuous  woman;  he  would  leave  her  alone  for 
days  at  a  time  without  the  slightest  worry,  never 
asking  her  what  she  had  done  or  who  had  been 
there  during  his  absence.  .  .  . 

However,  this  did  not  arise  from  the  fact  that 
Tio  Lucas'  love  was  less  intense  than  Sena  Fras- 
quita's.  It  arose  from  the  fact  that  he  had  more 
confidence  in  her  virtue  than  she  had  in  his;  it 
meant  that  he  had  the  advantage  of  her  in  pene- 
tration, and  knew  to  what  extent  he  was  loved, 
and  how  much  his  wife  respected  herself;  it 
meant  chiefly  that  Tio  Lucas  was  a  man  through 
and  through :  a  man  like  him  of  Shakespearean 
fame,  of  few  and  indivisable  feelings,  incapable  of 
doubt,  who  believed  or  died,  who  loved  or  killed, 
who  would  admit  of  no  gradations  or  transitions 
between  supreme  felicity  and  the  extermination 
of  his  happiness. 

He  was,  in  short,  a  Murcian  Othello,  in  alpar- 
gatas  1  and  a  peasant's  cap  -  -  in  the  first  act  of  a 
potential  tragedy.  .  .  . 

But  why  these  gloomy  notes  in  such  a  gay  in- 

i  Alpargatas ;  low  canvas  shoes  with  rope  soles. 
48 


THE  FOUNDATION  OF  FELICITY 

terlude?     Why  these  portentous  lightning  flashes 
in  such  a  serene  atmosphere?    Why  these  melo- 
dramatic attitudes  in  a  genre  picture? 
You  shall  find  out  immediately. 


49 


VIII 

THE   MAN   IN   THE   THREE-CORNERED   HAT 

IT  was  two  o'clock  on  an  October  afternoon. 
The  Cathedral  bell  was  ringing  for  ves- 
pers—  which  is  equivalent  to  saying  that 
all  the  principal  personages  of  the  City  had  al- 
ready dined. 

The  canons  were  making  their  way  to  the  choir, 
and  the  laymen  to  their  rooms  for  their  siestas; 
especially  those  who  for  official  reasons  -  -  that  is, 
those  in  authority  —  had  spent  the  entire  morn- 
ing at  work. 

It  was,  then,  very  strange  that  at  that  hour, 
which  was  so  unsuitable  for  taking  a  walk,  as  it 
was  still  too  hot,  there  should  depart  from  the 
City,  on  foot,  and  followed  by  a  single  alguacil,1 
the  illustrious  Senor  Corregidor  of  the  same  — 
whom  no  one  either  by  day  or  by  night,  could  con- 

i  Alguacil :  a  bailiff. 
50 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

fuse  with  any  one  else,  not  only  on  account  of 
the  immensity  of  his  three-cornered  hat  and  the 
gorgeousness  of  his  scarlet  cloak,  but  also  on  ac- 
count of  the  very  singular  character  of  his  gro- 
tesque bearing.  .  .  . 

There  are  still  many  persons  who  can  speak 
with  full  authority  on  the  matter  of  the  scarlet 
cloak  and  the  three-cornered  hat.  We  ourselves, 
as  well  as  many  others  who  were  born  in  a  certain 
city  in  the  last  years  of  the  reign  of  Senor  Don 
Fernando  VII,  remember  having  seen  that  cloak 
and  hat  (the  black  hat  on  top  and  the  scarlet 
cloak  beneath)  hanging  on  a  nail  in  the  ruined 
towrer  of  the  house  where  His  Worship  lived  — 
the  sole  adornment  of  its  dismantled  walls.  (At 
that  time,  the  tower  was  devoted  to  the  childish 
games  of  his  grandson.)  Those  two  antiquated 
garments  formed  a  sort  of  spectre  of  Absolutism, 
a  sort  of  Corregidors  shroud,  a  sort  of  retrospec- 
tive caricature  of  his  power,  painted,  like  so  many 
others,  in  charcoal  and  ochre  by  us  youngsters 
of  the  Constitution  of  1837  who  had  gathered 
there.  They  wrere,  in  short,  a  sort  of  scare-crow 
which  in  other  times  had  been  a  scare-man,  and 

51 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

upon  which  I  am  afraid  of  having  heaped  ridicule 
today  by  parading  it  through  that  historic  city  in 
carnival  time  on  the  end  of  a  chimney-sweeper, 
or  by  using  it  as  a  ludicrous  disguise  for  the  idiot 
that  made  the  common  herd  laugh  most  heartily. 
.  .  .  Poor  principles  of  authority!  Thus  hast 
thou  been  treated  by  us  who  today  invoke  thee  so 
oft!  ... 

As  to  the  grotesque  bearing  of  the  Senor  Cor- 
regidor,,  it  was  caused  (so  they  say)  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  round-shouldered  —  still  more  so 
than  Tio  Lucas  —  in  fact,  he  was  hunchbacked,  if 
you  will  have  it  —  ;  of  less  than  medium  height ; 
weakly;  in  ill  health;  bow-legged,  and  with  a 
manner  of  walking  sui  generis  (swaying  from 

• 

one  side  to  the  other  and  from  front  to  rear), 
which  can  only  be  described  by  the  absurd  state- 
ment that  he  seemed  to  be  lame  in  both  legs.  On 
the  other  hand  (tradition  adds) ,  his  face  was  not 
bad,  although  rather  wrinkled  from  the  utter  lack 
of  teeth.  His  complexion  wTas  greenish  and  dark, 
like  that  of  nearly  all  of  the  sons  of  the  two  Cas- 
tiles.  His  eyes  were  large  and  black,  and 
gleamed  with  anger,  despotism,  and  sensuality* 
52 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

He  had  delicate  and  dissolute  features  which  ex- 
pressed no  personal  valour,  but  rather  a  sly  mal- 
ice capable  of  anything;  and  a  certain  air  of  self- 
complacency,  half  aristocratic,  half  libertine, 
which  revealed  the  fact  that  in  spite  of  his  legs 
and  his  hump,  the  man  must  have  been  in  his  re- 
mote youth,  very  agreeable  and  acceptable  to 
women. 

Don  Eugenio  de  Zuniga  y  Ponce  de  Leon  (for 
that  was  His  Lordship- s  name)  was  born  in  Ma- 
drid of  an  illustrious  family;  at  the  time  of  our 
story  he  was  going  on  forty-five,  and  had  for  four 
years  been  corregidor  of  the  city  with  which  we 
are  concerned,  where,  soon  after  his  arrival,  he 

married  the  very  distinguished  lady  of  whom  we 

• 

shall  speak  later  on. 

Don  Eugenio's  stockings  (the  only  part  of  his 
clothes  except  his  shoes  which  the  extreme  length 
of  his  scarlet  cloak  permitted  one  to  see)  were 
white;  and  his  shoes  were  black,  with  gold 
buckles.  Later,  when  the  heat  of  the  country- 
side obliged  him  to  remove  his  cloak,  one  could 
see  that  he  wore  a  huge  muslin  cravat;  a  dove- 
coloured  serge  jacket,  very  much  festooned  with 

53 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

elegantly  embroidered  green  twigs;  short  black 
silk  breeches ;  an  enormous  tunic  of  the  same  stuff 
as  his  jacket;  a  rapier  with  a  steel  hilt;  a  staff 
with  tassels;  and  an  imposing  pair  of  gloves  (or 
hand-coverings)  of  straw-coloured  chamois-skin, 
which  he  never  put  on,  but  held,  as  it  were,  like  a 
sceptre. 

The  alguacil,  who  followed  the  Seiior  Correg- 
idor  at  a  distance  of  twenty  paces,  was  called 
Garduna,1  and  looked  exactly  like  his  name. 
Thin,  extremely  agile,  glancing  ahead  and  behind, 
to  the  right  and  to  the  left  as  he  marched  along, 
with  a  long  neck,  a  diminutive  and  repugnant 
face,  and  a  pair  of  hands  like  two  bundles  of 
whips,  he  resembled  at  once  a  sleuth  in  search  of 
criminals,  the  rope  which  was  to  bind  them,  and 
the  instrument  destined  for  their  punishment. 

The  first  corregidor  to  set  his  eye  upon  him 
said  without  further  recommendations :  "  You 
shall  be  my  personal  alguacil '  -  and  he  had  been 
that  to  four  corregidors. 

He  was  forty-eight  years  old,  and  wore  a  three- 
cornered  hat  much  smaller  than  his  master's  ( for 

iThe  Weasel.     - 

54 


THE  MAN  IN  THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

we  repeat  that  his  was  extraordinarily  large),  a 
black  cloak,  stockings  and  suit  of  the  same 
colour,  a  staff  without  tassels,  and  a  sort  of  spit 
for  a  sword. 

This  black  scare-crow  seemed  the  shadow  of  his 
elegant  master. 


55 


IX 

s 

ARRE,  BURRA! 

WHEREVER  that  personage  and  his 
appendix    went,    the    laborers    left 
their  tasks,  uncovered  their  heads, 
and  bowed  to  the  very  ground,  more  from  fear 
than  from  respect;  after  which  they  remarked 
to  one  another  in  a  low  voice : 

"  The  Senor  Corregidor  is  calling  on  Sena 
Frasquita  early  this  afternoon ! ' 

"  Early  —  and  alone ! ' '  added  some,  who  were 
accustomed  to  see  him  take  that  walk  in  the 
company  of  several  other  persons. 

"  Listen,  Manuel :  Why  do  you  suppose  the 
Senor  Corregidor  is  going  to  see  the  Navarrese 
alone  this  afternoon?  "  asked  a  village  woman  of 
her  husband  who  was  carrying  her  on  the  croup 
of  his  beast. 
56 


ARRE,  BURRA! 


And  as  she  put  the  question,  she  tickled  him 
by  way  of  added  emphasis. 

"Don't  be  evil-mindejdy-JoaefaJ 


the  good  man.  "  Sena  Frasquita  is  inca- 
pable —  " 

"  I  don't  say  she  isn't.  .  .  .  But  that's  not  say- 
ing that  the  Corregidor  is  incapable  of  falling  in 
love  with  her.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  of  all 
those  who  go  to  stuff  themselves  at  the  mill,  the 
old  Madrelene  is  the  only  one  who  has  evil  in- 
tentions. He's  so  crazy  about  women  —  " 

"  How  do  you  know  whether  he  is  crazy  about 
women  or  not?  '  demanded  the  husband  in  his 
turn. 

"  I  don't  say  it  for  me.  .  .  .  Corregidor  or  no 
Corregidor,  he'd  have  to  be  mighty  careful  how 
he  told  me  my  eyes  were  black  !  " 

She  who  said  this  was  homely  to  a  superlative 
degree. 

"Well,  see  here,  my  child;  that's  their  busi- 
ness !  "  replied  he  whom  they  called,  JIanuel.  "  I 
don't  think  Tio  Lucas  is  a  man  who  would  con- 
sent —  Tio  Lucas  has  a  lovely  temper  when  he 
gets  angry  !  ' 

57 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  But  he  really  seems  to  like  it ! '  continued 
Tia  Josefa,  wrinkling  her  snout. 

"  Tio  Lucas  is  a  virtuous  man,"  replied  the  vil- 
lager. "  And  there  are  certain  things  a  virtuous 
man  can  never  like." 

"Well,  perhaps  you  are  right.  .  .  .  That's  their 
business !     Now,  if  I  were  Sefia  Frasquita  — ! ' 
"  Arre,     burra1!'     shouted    the    husband    to 
change  the  subject. 

And  the  donkey  went  off  at  a  trot  —  which 
made  it  impossible  to  hear  the  rest  of  the  dia- 
logue. 

i  Get  up,  donkey ! 


58 


FROM   THE  ARBOUR 

WHILE  the  farmers  who  saluted  the 
Corregidor   were    chatting   in    this 
fashion,  Send  Frasquita  was  care- 
fully sprinkling  and  sweeping  the  little  pavement 
that  served  as  an  atrium  or  courtyard  for  the 
mill,  and  was  arranging  a  half  dozen  chairs  be- 
neath the  widest  part  of  the  arbour  upon  which 
Tio  Lucas  had  climbed  in  order  to  cut  the  best 
bunches  of  grapes.     These  he  was  arranging  ar- 
tistically in  a  basket. 

"  Why,  yes,  Frasquita,"  Tio  Lucas  was  saying 

4 

from  the  top  of  the  arbour :     "  The  Senor  Cor- 
regidor is  in  love  with  you,  and  in  a  very  indecent 


manner  — " 


"  That's  what  I  have  been  telling  you  for  some 
time,"  answered  the  woman  of  the  North.  "  But 
let  him  suffer !  —  Be  careful,  Lucas ;  don't  fall !  " 

59 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  Don't  worry :  I've  got  a  good  hold.  .  .  .  Also, 
you  are  liked  by  Senor  — " 

"  See  here ;  don't  give  me  any  more  of  your 
news !  "  she  interrupted.  "  I  know  too  well  who 
likes  me  and  who  doesn't!  I  only  wish  I  knew 
why  you  don't  like  me  as  well !  " 

"  Why,  because  you  are  so  very  homely ! '  re- 
plied Tio  Lucas. 

"Well,  see  here  —  homely  or  no  homely,  I'm 
perfectly  able  to  climb  that  arbour  and  throw  you 
head  first  to  the  ground !  " 

"  Then  all  I  would  have  to  do  would  be  to  re- 
fuse to  let  you  go  until  I  had  eaten  you  alive !  " 

"  Yes !  —  And  when  my  lovers  come  and  see  us 
up  there,  they'll  say  we  are  a  couple  of  mon- 
keys ! " 

"  And  they  will  be  right :  because  you  are  a 
little  monkey  —  and  a  very  pretty  one  —  and  I 
look  like  a  monkey  with  this  hump  — " 

"  Which  I  am  very  fond  of." 

"  Then  you  will  like  the  Corregidor's  much  bet- 
ter —  it's  bigger  than  mine !  " 

"  Come,  come,  Senor  Don  Lucas  —  don't  be  so 
jealous ! " 
60 


FROM  THE  ARBOUR 


"  Me,  jealous  of  that  old  swindler?  On  the 
contrary ;  I  am  very  glad  he  likes  you ! ' 

"Why?" 

"  Because  the  penance  lies  in  the  sin.  You'll 
never  really  love  him;  and  meanwhile  I  shall  be 
the  real  Corregidor  of  the  City ! ' 

"  Listen  to  the  conceited  one !  But  I  might 
succeed  in  loving  him  —  Stranger  things  than 
that  have  happened ! ' 

"  That  wouldn't  worry  me  very  much, 
either ! ' 

"Why?" 

"  Because  then  you  would  no  longer  be  your- 
self;  and  not  being  the  person  you  were,  or  the 
person  I  thought  you  were  —  cursed  if  I  would 
care  if  the  devil  himself  got  you ! ' 

"  All  right ;  what  would  you  do  in  a  case  like 
that?  "  " 

"  I  ?  Why,  I  don't  know !  Because  then  I 
would  be  some  one  else  and  not  the  man  I  am 
now;  and  I  cannot  imagine  what  I  would 
think  — " 

"  And  why  would  you  be  some  one  else?  "  in- 
sisted Sena  Frasquita  bravely,  as  she  stopped 

61 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

sweeping  and  placed  her  hands  on  her  hips,  the 
better  to  look  up  at  him. 

Tio  Lucas  scratched  his  head,  as  if  endeavour- 
ing to  rake  up  some  very  deep-rooted  idea,  until 
he  finally  said  with  more  than  his  accustomed 
seriousness  and  elegance : 

"  I  would  be  some  one  else,  because  now  I  am  a 
man  who  believes  in  you  as  in  his  very  self,  and 
who  has  no  other  faith  in  life  but  that.  Conse- 
quently, the  minute  I  stopped  believing  in  you,  I 
would  either  die,  or  become  a  different  man;  I 
would  live  differently ;  it  would  seem  as  if  I  had 
just  been  born ;  I  would  have  another  heart !  So 
I  don't  know  what  I  would  do  to  you.  .  .  .  Per- 
haps I  would  laugh  at  you  and  turn  my  back  on 
you.  Perhaps  I  wouldn't  even  recognize  you. 
.  .  .  Perhaps  —  but  this  is  a  nice  kind  of  fun  to 
be  having  —  getting  all  wrought  up  over  noth- 
ing! What  difference  would  it  make  if  all  the 
corregidors  in  the  world  loved  you?  Aren't  you 
my  Frasquita? ' 

"  Yes,  you  wild  man ! '  replied  the  Navarrese, 
laughing  till  she  could  laugh  no  more.  "  I  am 
62 


FROM  THE  ARBOUR 


your  Frasquita,  and  you  are  my  own  dear  Lucas, 
homlier  than  a  bogey-man,  cleverer  than  any 
other  man  I  know,  nicer  than  bread,  and  I  love 
you  more  than  —  Ah !  As  for  loving  you :  just 
you  wait  until  you  get  down  from  that  arbour 
and  you'll  see!  Get  ready  to  take  more  blows 
and  pinches  than  there  are  hairs  in  your  head! 
But  hush !  What  do  I  see?  The  Sefior  Corregi- 
dor  is  coming  this  way  entirely  alone.  .  .  .  And 
so  early !  He's  got  something  up  his  sleeve.  You 
were  right,  it  seems !  " 

"  Well,  don't  get  excited,  and  don't  tell  him.  I 
am  up  here.  He  is  coming  to  make  love  to  you 
alone,  and  thinks  he  is  going  to  rob  me  while  I 
take  my  siesta!  I  want  to  amuse  myself  by 
listening  to  his  explanation." 

As  Tio  Lucas  said  this,  he  handed  the  basket 
to  his  wife. 

"  That's  not  a  bad  idea !  "  she  exclaimed,  laugh- 
ing anew.  "  The  devilish  old  Madrilene!  What 
do  you  suppose  he  thinks  a  corregidor  is  to  me? 
But  here  he  comes.  And  of  course  Garduna,  who 
was  some  distance  behind  him,  has  sat  down  in 

63 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

the  shade  in  the  ravine.  What  nonsense!  Be 
careful  to  hide  well  among  the  leaves,  for  we  are 
going  to  laugh  harder  than  you  think.  .  .  ." 

And  this  said,  the  beautiful  Navarrese  began 
to  sing  a  fandango  which  was  as  familiar  to  her 
now  as  the  songs  of  her  own  country. 


64 


XI 

THE  BOMBARDMENT  OF   PAMPLONA 

OD  keep  you,  Frasquita,"  said  the  Cor- 
regidor  in  a  low  voice,  as  he  entered 
the  grape-arbour  on  tip-toe. 
"  You  are  too  good,  Senor  Corregidor ! '  she 
replied  in  her  natural  voice,  courtesying  again 
and  again.  "  Your  Worship  here  at  this  hour ! 
And  in  this  heat!  Come,  sit  down,  Your  Lord- 
ship !  It's  nice  and  cool  in  here.  How  is  it  that 
Your  Lordship  did  not  wait  for  the  other  gentle- 
men? Here  are  their  seats,  all  ready  for  them. 
.  .  .  This  afternoon  we  are  expecting  the  Senor 
Bishop  himself,  who  promised  my  Lucas  to  come 
and  sample  our  first  grapes.  And  how  goes  it 
with  Your  Lordship?  How  is  the  Senora?  ' 

The  Corregidor  was  confused.     The   desired 
solitude   in    which    he    found    Sefia    Frasquita 

65 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

.  seemed  like  a  dream  to  him,  or  like  a  snare  which 
an  unkind  fate  had  set  in  order  to  hurl  him  into 
the  abyss  of  a  disappointment. 

He  limited  himself,  then,  to  replying: 

"  It  isn't  as  early  as  you  say.  ...  It  must  be 
about  half  past  three.  .  .  ." 

At  that  very  moment  the  parrot  screeched. 

"  It  is  a  quarter  past  two,"  said  the  Navarrese, 
looking  fixedly  at  the  Madrilene. 

The  latter  fell  silent,  like  a  convicted  criminal 
who  abandons  his  defense. 

"Where  is  Lucas?  Is  he  asleep?"  he  asked 
after  a  pause. 

(We  ought  to  note  here  that  the  Corregidor, 
like  all  persons  who  have  no  teeth,  spoke  with  a 

soft  hissing  enunciation,  as  if  he  wrere  chewing 

t 

his  lips.) 

"  Of  course !  "  answered  Seii&  Frasquita.  "At 
this  hour  of  the  day  he  falls  asleep  wherever  he 
happens  to  be,  even  if  it  is  on  the  edge  of  a 
precipice  .  .  ." 

"  See  here,  then  —  let  him  sleep ! '  exclaimed 
the  old  Corregidor,  turning  paler  than  ever. 
"  And  you,  my  dear  Frasquita,  listen  to  me  ... 
66 


THE  BOMBARDMENT  OF  PAMPLONA 

listen  .  .  .  come  here  ...  sit  here  by  my  side! 
I  have  much  to  say  to  you  .  .  ." 

"  Here  I  am  seated,"  replied  the  miller's  wife, 
seizing  a  low  chair  and  placing  it  close  to  and 
in  front  of  the  Corregidor's. 

When  she  had  seated  herself,  Frasquita  threw 
one  leg  over  the  other,  leaned  forward  a  bit, 
rested  an  elbow  upon  the  balanced  knee,  and  her 
fresh  and  pretty  face  in  one  of  her  hands;  and 
thus,  with  her  head  tipped  slightly  to  one  side, 
her  five  dimples  in  action,  and  her  serene  eyes 
fastened  upon  the  Corregidor,  she  awaited  His 
Lordship's  declaration.  One  might  have  com- 
pared her  to  Pamplona  awaiting  a  bombardment. 

The  poor  man  started  to  speak,  but  his  mouth 
remained  open  -  -  spell-bound  by  that  majestic 
beauty,  by  that  display  of  charms,  by  that  formid- 
able woman  of  alabastrine  colour,  with  her  ex- 
uberant flesh,  her  clean  and  smiling  mouth,  her 
blue,  unfathomable  eyes,  who  looked  as  if  she  had 
been  created  by  the  brush  of  Rubens. 

"  Frasquita ! ' '  the  king's  representative  at  last 
murmured  in  feeble  accents,  while  his  withered 
face,  covered  with  perspiration  and  standing  out 

67 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

from  his  hump,  expressed  extreme  anguish. — 
"  Frasquita !  " 

"  That  is  my  name ! '  answered  the  daughter 
of  the  Pyrenees  —  "  What  is  it?  " 

"  Anything  you  like,"  replied  the  old  man  with 
unbounded  tenderness. 

"  Well,"  said  the  miller's  wife,  "  Your  Worship 
already  knows  what  I  want.  I  want  Your  Wor- 
ship to  appoint  a  nephew  of  mine  who  lives  in 
Estella,  as  secretary  of  the  Municipal  Council  of 
the  City  so  he  can  come  here  from  those  moun- 
tains where  he  is  having  such  a  hard  time  of 

it         " 
11  >  •  • 

"  I  have  already  told  you,  Frasquita,  that  that 
is  impossible.  The  present  secretary  — 

"  Is  a  thief,  a  drunkard,  and  a  beast ! ' 

"  I  know  it  ...  But  he  has  great  influence 
with  the  permanent  councilors,  and  I  cannot  ap- 
point another  without  the  consent  of  the  Council. 
Indeed,  I  risk  — " 

«  <  Risk ! '— <  Risk !'  Wouldn't  we  risk  the 
very  cats  in  our  house  for  Your  Lordship?  ' 

"  Would  you  love  me  at  such  a  price?  v  stam- 
mered the  Corregidor. 
68 


THE  BOMBARDMENT  OF  PAMPLONA 

"No,  Seiior;  I  love  Your  Worship  gratis." 

"  Woman,  don't  use  a  title  with  me !  Call  me 
just  '  you/  or  anything  you  like  ...  So  you  are 
going  to  love  me?  —  Tell  me." 

"  But  am  I  not  telling  you  that  I  already  love 
you?" 

"But—" 

"  Never  mind  your  buts.  Just  you  wait  and 
see  how  good-looking  and  what  a  fine  fellow  my 
nephew  is ! ' 

"  You  are  the  one  who  is  good-looking,  Fras- 
cuela ! " — 

"  Do  you  like  me?  ' 

"  Indeed  I  do !  -  -  There  is  no  woman  like  you ! ' 

"  Well,  there  certainly  is  nothing  artificial 
about  this,"  replied  Sena  Frasquita,  rolling  up 
her  sleeve  and  showing  the  Corregidor  the  rest 
of  her  arm,  which  was  worthy  of  a  caryatid,  and 
whiter  than  a  lily. 

"  Indeed  I  do  like  you !  "  continued  the  Correg- 
idor. "  Day  and  night,  every  hour,  everywhere, 
I  think  only  of  you !  " 

"  Well,  well !  Don't  you  like  the  Seiiora  Cor- 
regidora? '  asked  Sena  Frasquita  with  such  ill- 

C9 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

assumed  compassion  that  it  would  have  made  a 
hypochondriac  laugh  to  see  her. 

"  What  a  shame !  My  Lucas  told  me  that  he 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  her  and  speaking  to 
her  when  he  went  to  fix  your  bedroom  clock,  and 
that  she  was  very  pretty,  very  nice,  and  very 
friendly." 

"  Scarcely  as  much  as  that !  Scarcely  as  much 
as  that ! '  murmured  the  Corregidor  rather  bit- 
terly. 

"  On  the  other  hand/'  continued  the  miller's 
wife,  "  others  have  told  me  that  she  has  a  very 
bad  disposition,  that  she  is  very  jealous,  and  that 
you  are  more  afraid  of  her  than  you  are  of  a  green 
stick." 

"  Scarcely  as  much  as  that,  woman !  v  repeated 
Don  Eugenio  de  Zuiiga  y  Ponce  de  Leon,  turning 
red.  "  Scarcely  as  much  as  that,  and  scarcely  as 
little!  The  Sefiora  has  her  peculiarities,  that's 
true  —  but  there  is  a  great  deal  of  difference  be- 
tween that  and  my  being  afraid  of  her.  I  am  the 
Corregidor ! ' 

"  But,  in  short  —  do  you,  or  do  you  not  love 
her?" 
70 


THE  BOMBARDMENT  OF  PAMPLONA 

"  I'll  tell  you.  I  love  her  a  great  deal  -  -  or 
rather,  I  did  before  I  met  you.  But  since  I  first 
saw  you,  I  don't  know  what  is  the  matter  with 
me  -  -  and  she  herself  knows  that  something  is 
wrong  with  me  -  -  Suffice  it  for  you  to  know  that 
now,  for  example,  when  I  chuck  my  wife  under 
the  chin,  it  has  the  same  effect  upon  me  as  if  I 
were  chucking  myself  under  the  chin.  ...  So 
you  see  that  I  cannot  love  her  more  nor  feel  less ! 
While  just  to  grasp  that  hand,  that  arm,  that 
face,  that  waist  —  I  would  give  -  -  what  I  haven't 
got !  » 

And  as  he  spoke,  the  Corregidor  attempted  to 
take  possession  of  the  bare  arm  that  Sena  Fras- 
quita  was  displaying  in  the  flesh  before  his  eyes. 
But  without  losing  her  composure,  she  extended 
her  hand,  touched  His  Lordship's  breast  with  the 
pacific  violence  and  irresistible  rigidity  of  an  ele- 
phant's trunk,  and  tipped  him  over  backwards, 
chair  and  all. 

"  Ave  Maria  Purisima! } '  cried  the  Navarrese, 
laughing  till  she  could  laugh  no  more.  "  I  think 
the  chair  must  have  been  broken  — " 

"  What  is  going'  on  here? "  exclaimed  Tio 

71 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

Lucas  at  this  point,  sticking  his  homely  face 
through  the  leaves  of  the  arbour. 

The  Corregidor  was  still  on  the  ground,  face 
upward,  and  he  gazed  in  unspeakable  terror  upon 
the  man  who  appeared  as  it  were,  in  the  air,  face 
downward. 

One  might  have  said  that  His  Lordship  was 
the  devil,  conquered-  -not  by  St.  Michael,  but 
by  a  fellow  demon  of  the  infernal  regions. 

"  What  do  you  suppose  has  happened?  '  Sena 
Frasquita  hastened  to  reply.  "  The  Sefior  Cor- 
regidor placed  his  chair  too  near  the  edge,  started 
to  rock,  and  fell  over ! ' 

"  Jesiis,  Maria  y  Jose! '  exclaimed  the  miller 
in  his  turn.  "  Is  Your  Lordship  hurt?  Do  you 
wish  a  little  water  and  vinegar? ' 

"  Not  in  the  least!  "  said  the  Corregidor,  pick- 
ing himself  up  as  best  he  could. 

And  then  in  a  low  voice,  but  loud  enough  for 
Sefta  Frasquita  to  hear,  he  added : 

"  You  shall  pay  me  for  this ! ' 

"  On  the  other  hand,  Your  Lordship  has  saved 
my  life/ '  rejoined  Tio  Lucas  without  moving  from 
72 


THE  BOMBARDMENT  OF  PAMPLONA 

the  top  of  the  arbour.  "  Just  think  of  it,  wife; 
I  was  sitting  here  looking  at  the  grapes,  when  I 
fell  asleep  on  a  network  of  vine-shoots  and  sticks 
that  has  open  spaces  plenty  large  enough  to  let 

my  body  through. —  So,  if  His  Lordship's  fall  had 

/  .1 

not  awakened  me  in  time,  this  afternoon  I  should 
have  broken  my  head  on  those  stones." 

"  Indeed-  —  eh? '  replied  the  Corregidor. 
"  Well,  see  here,  my  man,  I'm  glad !  I  tell  you, 
I'm  glad  I  fell !  " 

"  You  shall  pay  me  for  it ! ' '  he  added  shortly, 
addressing  himself  to  the  miller's  wife. 

And  he  pronounced  these  words  with  such  an 
expression  of  concentrated  fury,  that  Sena  Fras- 
quita  looked  downcast. 

She  saw  clearly  that  the  Corregidor  was  afraid 
at  first,  believing  that  the  miller  had  overheard 
everything ;  but  that,  convinced  that  he  had  really 
heard  nothing  (since  the  calmness  and  dissimula- 
tion of  Tio  Lucas  would  have  deceived  the  most 
acute),  he  was  beginning  to  give  himself  up  en- 
tirely to  his  malice  and  to  conceive  plans  of  ven- 
geance. 

73 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  Come !  Get  down  and  help  me  brush  off  His 
Lordship ;  he's  just  covered  with  dust !  "  the  mil- 
ler's wife  exclaimed  at  this  point. 

And  as  Tio  Lucas  was  descending,  she  said  to 
the  Corregidor  as  she  dealt  several  blows  to  his 
jacket  —  and  a  few  to  his  ears  —  with  her  apron : 

"  The  poor  fellow  never  heard  a  thing.  He 
was  sleeping  like  a  log." 

Aside  from  these  phrases  in  themselves,  the 
fact  that  they  were  spoken  in  a  low^  voice,  produc- 
ing an  effect  of  complicity  and  secrecy,  caused  a 
marvelous  change  in  him. 

"  You  rogue !  Insolent  one ! '  sputtered  Don 
Eugenio  de  Zimiga  with  his  mouth  watering,  but 
still  groaning. 

"  Will  Your  Lordship  hold  it  against  me? ' 
asked  the  Navarrese  coaxingly. 

Seeing  that  severity  brought  him  good  results, 
the  "Corregidor  attempted  to  look  at  Sena  Fras- 
quita  as  though  in  a  great  rage;  but  he  encoun- 
tered her  tempting  smile  and  her  divine  eyes, 
shining  with  the  caress  of  an  entreaty;  and,  his 
anger  subsiding  suddenly,  he  said  to  her  in 
7'4 


THE  BOMBARDMENT  OF  PAMPLONA 

drivelling  and  hissing  accents  in  which  his  entire 
lack  of  teeth  was  more  in  evidence  than  ever : 
"  That  depends  upon  you,  my  love ! ' 
At  that  moment  Tio  Lucas  swung  himself  dowp 
from  the  arbour. 


75 


XII 

TITHES  AND   FIRST-FRUITS 

WHEN  the  Corregidor  had  been  re- 
established in  his  chair,  the  miller's 
wife  cast  a  hasty  glance  at  her 
spouse  and  saw  that  he  was  as  calm  as  ever,  but 
bursting  with  a  desire  to  laugh.  She  tossed  him 
a  kiss  from  a  distance,  taking  advantage  of  the 
first  moment  of  inattention  on  Don  Eugenio's 
part,  and  finally  said  to  the  latter  in  a  siren-like 
voice  that  Cleopatra  herself  might  have  envied : 

"  Now  Your  Worship  is  going  to  try  my 
grapes ! " 

Then  you  should  have  seen  the  beautiful  Nav- 
arrese  (and  this  is  how  I  should  paint  her  had  I 
the  brush  of  Titian)  as  she  stood  firmly  in  front 
of  the  amazed  Corregidor,-  -  fresh,  magnificent, 
seductive,  with  her  noble  form,  her  close-fitting 
dress,  her  tall  stature,  her  bare  arms  lifted  over 
76 


TITHES  AND  FIRST-FRUITS 

her  head,  and  with  a  transparent  bunch  of 
grapes  in  each  hand,  saying  between  an  irresist- 
ible smile  and  a  suppliant  look  in  which  there 
was  a  trace  of  fear: 

"  Even  the  Senor  Bishop  has  not  tasted  them 
yet  .  .  .  They  are  the  first  we  have  picked  this 
year  .  .  ." 

She  resembled  a  gigantic  Pomona  offering 
fruit  to  a  bucolic  god  —  a  satyr,  for  example. 

At  this  moment  the  venerable  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  appeared  at  the  end  of  the  paved  court- 
yard accompanied  by  the  academic  lawyer  and 
two  canons  of  advanced  age ;  and  followed  by  his 
secretary,  two  familiars,  and  two  pages. 

His  Lordship  paused  a  moment  to  contemplate 
that  comic  and  beautiful  picture,  until  at  last  he 
said  in  the  calm  accents  peculiar  to  the  prelates 
of  those  days : 

"Fifth: — to  pay  tithes  and  first-fruits  to  the 
Church  of  God,  as  the  Christian  Doctrine  teaches 
us:  but  you,  Senor  Corregidor,  are  not  content 
with  administering  the  tithes,  but  must  needs 
also  take  it  upon  yourself  to  eat  the  first-fruits." 

"  The  Senor  Bishop ! '  exclaimed  the  miller 

77 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

and  his  wife,  leaving  the  Corregidor  and  run- 
ning to  kiss  the  Prelate's  ring. 

"  May  God  repay  Your  Lordship  for  coming 
to  honour  this  poor  hut ! '  said  Tio  Lucas,  who 
was  the  first  to  kiss  the  ring,  in  accents  of  very 
sincere  veneration. 

"  How  handsome  the  Senor  Bishop  looks!  "  ex- 
claimed Send  Frasquita,  following  her  husband's 
example.  "  God  bless  him  and  keep  him  for  me 
longer  than  He  keeps  me  for  my  Lucas ! ' 

"  I  don't  see  what  need  you  can  have  of  me, 
when  you  shower  blessings  upon  me  instead  of 
asking  me  for  them ! ' '  replied  the  kindly  Pastor 
with  a  smile. 

And,  extending  his  finger,  he  blessed,  first 
Send  Frasquita,  and  then  the  others  who  stood 
near. 

"  Here  are  the  first-fruits  for  Your  Lordship ! ' 
said  the  Corregidor,  taking  a  bunch  from  the  mil- 
ler's wife  and  presenting  them  courteously  to  the 
Bishop.     "  I  have  not  yet  tasted  the  grapes." 

As  the  Corregidor  pronounced  these  words  he 
directed  a  rapid  and  malicious  glance  at  the 
radiant  beauty  of  the  miller's  wife. 
78 


TITHES  AND  FIRST-FRUITS 

"  Well,  that  cannot  be  because  they  are  sour, 
like  those  in  the  fable,"  observed  the  academician. 

"  Those  in  the  fable,"  expounded  the  Bishop, 
"  were  not  sour,  Senor  Licentiate;  but  out  of  the 
fox's  reach." 

Neither  of  them  had  meant  to  allude  to  the 
Corregidor;  but  both  phrases  happened  to  be  so 
exactly  a  propos  what  had  just  occurred  that 
Don  Eugenio  de  Zuniga  turned  livid  with  rage, 
and  said,  as  he  kissed  the  Prelate's  ring : 

"  That  is  calling  me  a  fox,  Your  Lordship ! ' 

"  Tu  divisti! y  he  replied,  with  the  affable  se- 
renity of  a  saint,  as  they  say  he  really  was. 
"  Excusatio  non  petita,  accusatio  manifesto,. 
Quails  mr,  tolls  oratio.  But,  satis  jam  dictum, 
nullus  ultra  sit  sermo.  Or,  what  amounts  to  the 
same  thing:  let  us  leave  our  Latin  and  examine 
these  famous  grapes." 

And  he  plucked  -  -  just  once  —  at  the  bunch 
that  the  Corregidor  held  out  to  him. 

"  They  are  very  good ! '  he  exclaimed,  holding 
the  grape  up  to  the  light  and  immediately  hand- 
ing it  to  his  secretary.  "  It  is  a  pity  they  do  not 
agree  with  me ! ' 

79 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

The  secretary  also  looked  at  the  grape,  made  a 
gesture  or  courtly  admiration,  and  handed  it  to 
one  of  the  familiars. 

The  familiar  repeated  the  action  of  the  Bishop 
and  the  gesture  of  the  secretary,  forgetting  him- 
self to  the  extent  of  smelling  the  grape,  and  then 
—  placed  it  in  his  basket  with  scruplous  care, 
not  without  saying  to  the  bystanders  in  a  low 
voice : 

"  His  Lordship  fasts  .  .  ." 

Then  Tio  Lucas,  who  had  followed  the  grape 
with  his  eyes,  slyly  removed  it  and  ate  it  without 
any  one  noticing  him. 

After  that,  they  all  sat  down;  chatted  about 
the  autumn  season  (which  had  continued  to  be 
very  dry  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  autumnal 
equinox  had  passed)  ;  had  a  brief  discussion  of 
the  probability  of  another  war  between  Napoleon 
and  Austria;  were  insistent  in  their  belief  that 
the  imperial  troops  would  never  invade  Spanish 
territory;  the  lawyer  complained  of  the  stormi- 
ness  and  calamitousness  of  the  period,  envying 
the  quiet  days  of  his  fathers  ( as  his  fathers  would 
have  envied  those  of  his  grandfathers) ;  the  par* 
80 


TITHES  AND  FIRST-FRUITS 

rot  "struck7  five-  -and,  at  a  signal  from  the 
reverend  Bishop,  the  smaller  of  the  pages  went 
to  the  episcopal  carriage  (which  had  stopped  in 
the  very  same  ravine  which  sheltered  the  algua- 
cil),  and  returned  with  a  magnificent  cake  made 
of  bread  and  oil  sprinkled  with  salt,  which  must 
have  come  from  the  oven  scarce  an  hour  before: 
a  table  was  set  up  in  the  midst  of  the  concourse ; 
the  cake  was  cut ;  a  suitable  portion  was  given  to 
Tio  Lucas  and  Send  Frasquita  in  spite  of  their 
remonstrances  — ,  and  a  truly  democratic  equal- 
ity reigned  for  half  an  hour  beneath  the  grape 
leaves  through  which  filtered  the  last  rays  of  the 
setting  sun  .  .  . 


81 


XIII 

SAID  THE   POT  TO  THE  KETTLE 

AN  hour  and  a  half  later  all  the  illus- 
trious luncheon  companions  were  back 
in  the  City. 

The  Senor  Bishop  and  his  family  had  arrived 
considerably  before  the  others,  thanks  to  the 
carriage,  and  were  already  en  palacio,  where  we 
shall  leave  them  to  their  devotions. 

The  distinguished  lawyer  (who  was  very  thin) 
and  the  two  canons  (each  fatter  and  more  re- 
spectable than  the  other)  accompanied  the  Cor- 
regidor  to  the  door  of  the  City  Hall  (where  His 
Honour  said  he  had  some  work  to  do),  and  then 
made  their  way  to  their  respective  homes,  guiding 
themselves  by  the  stars  like  sea-farers,  or  groping 
at  the  corners  like  blind  men.  For  night  had 
already  fallen,  the  moon  had  not  yet  risen,  and 
82 


SAID  THE  POT  TO  THE  KETTLE 

the  public  light  (like  other  lights  in  our  century) 
was  as  vet  in  the  Divine  Mind. 

Still,  it  was  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  moving 
along  some  of  the  streets  some  sort  of  a  lamp  or 
lantern  with  which  a  respectful  servant  was  light- 
ing the  steps  of  his  magnificent  masters,  who 
were  on  their  way  to  the  habitual  coterie  or  to 
pay  a  visit  at  the  house  of  some  relative. 

Near  almost  any  of  the  lower  window -gratings 
one  could  see  (or  rather,  sense)  a  silent  black 
form.  These  were  gallants  who  had  left  off  talk- 
ing to  their  sweethearts  wrhen  they  heard  foot- 
steps - 

"  We  are  perfect  rakes ! '  the  lawyer  and  the 
canons  kept  telling  each  other.  "  What  will  they 
think  at  home  when  they  see  us  arriving  at  this 
hour?  " 

"  Why,  what  will  those  people  say  whom  we 
meet  in  the  street  this  way,  at  seven  o'clock  at 
night,  as  if  wre  were  a  gang  of  robbers  seeking 
the  protection  of  the  darkness? ' 

"  We  must  improve  our  conduct." 

"  Yes,  indeed !  —  But  that  wonderful  mill !  v 

"  My  wife  cannot  stomach  it,"  said  the  acade- 

83 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

mician  in  a  tone  in  which  there  was  revealed  a 
considerable  amount  of  fear  for  the  approaching 
conjugal  quarrel. 

"Well,  what  about  my  niece?"  exclaimed  one 
of  the  canons  who  was  a  penitentiary.  "  My 
niece  says  that  priests  ought  not  to  call  on  gos- 
siping women." 

^_^  "  And  yet,"  interrupted  his  companion,  who 
was  a  magistral ;  "  nothing  could  be  more  inno- 
cent than  what  goes  on  there." 

"  Naturally,  seeing  that  the  Senor  Bishop  him- 
self goes  there ! ' 

"  And  then,  Seiiores,  think  of  our  age ! '  re- 
sponded the  penitentiary.  "  Yesterday  I  com- 
pleted my  seventy-fifth  year." 

"  Of  course !  "  replied  the  magistral.  "  But  let 
us  speak  of  something  else:  how  pretty  Send 
Frasquita  looked  this  afternoon ! ' 

"  Oh,  as  far  as  that  goes  —  she  is  pretty 
enough !  "  said  the  lawyer,  affecting  impartiality. 

"  Very  pretty,"  repeated  the  penitentiary  into 
his  muffler. 

"  And  if  you  don't  think  so,"  added  the  magis- 
tral ;  "  just  ask  the  Corregidor  — " 
84 


SAID  THE  POT  TO  THE  KETTLE 

"  The  poor  man  is  in  love  with  her ! ' 

"  I  should  say  he  is !  "  exclaimed  the  Cathedral 
confessor. 

"  Of  course!  "  added  the  (corresponding)  acacL 
emician  — "  Well,  Senores,  I  go  this  way  to  get 
home  quicker.  Good  night !  " 

"  Good  night ! '  replied  the  capitulars.  They 
took  a  few  steps  in  silence.  Then  — 

"  That  chap  also  likes  the  miller's  wife!  "  mur- 
mured the  magistral,  poking  the  penitentiary 
with  his  elbow. 

"  That's  plain  enough !  "  the  latter  replied  as  he 
stopped  at  the  door  of  his  house.  "What  an 
ugly  brute  he  is!  Well,  until  tomorrow,  com- 
rade. May  the  grapes  agree  with  you  per- 
fectly ! " 

"  Until  tomorrow,  God  willing  .  .  .  May  you 
sleep  well/' 

"  God  grant  us  a  good  night ! ' '  prayed  the  pen- 
itentiary from  his  doorway  which  contained  a 
lamp  and  a  Virgin  by  way  of  further  distinction. 

Then  he  pounded  upon  the  knocker. 

As  soon  as  he  was  alone  in  the  street,  the  other 
canon  (who  was  broader  than  he  was  tall,  and 

85 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

consequently  looked  as  if  lie  were  rolling  rather 
than  walking)  proceeded  to  advance  slowly  to- 
ward his  house;  but  before  he  got  there  he 
stopped  and  murmured  —  doubtless  thinking  of 
his  colleague  of  the  choir : 

"  You  too  like  Sena  Frasquita !  And  to  tell 
the  truth,"  he  added  after  a  pause;  "  she  is  rather 
pretty !  " 


86 


'l 


XIV 

f^ 

GARDUNA'S  ADVICE 

MEANWHILE,  the  Corregidor  had  gone 
to  the  City  Hall  accompanied  by  Gar- 
duiia,  with  whom  in  the  hall  of  sessions 
he  had  for  some  time  been  carrying  on  a  conver- 
sation which  was  more  familiar  than  was  suitable 
for  a  person  of  his  station  and  authority. 

"  Your  Worship  must  believe  a  hunting  dog 
who  knows  the  chase ! '  the  ignoble  alguacil  was 
saying.  "  SeM  Frasquita  is  head  over  heels  in 
love  with  you ;  and  everything  that  you  have  just 
told  me  makes  me  see  it  plainer  than  that 
light  — » 

And  he  pointed  to  a  Lucena  lamp  that  scarcely 
lighted  one-eighth  of  the  hall. 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  as  you  are,  Garduua ! '  re- 
plied Don  Eugenio  with  a  languid  sigh. 

"  Well,  I  don't  see  why  not !  If  you  don't  be- 

87 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

lieve  me,  let  us  speak  frankly.  If  you  will  par- 
don me,  Your  Worship  has  a  bodily  defect, —  isn't 
that  so?" 

"  Why,  yes !  "  replied  the  Corregidor.  "  But 
Tio  Lucas  also  has  one.  He  is  more  hunchbacked 
than  I ! " 

"  Much  more!  Very  much  more!  There  isn't 
the  slightest  comparison !  Rut  on  the  other  hand 
(and  this  is  what  I  was  coming  to),  Your  WTor- 
ship  has  a  face  that  is  very  good  to  look  upon  — 
what  one  might  call  a  handsome  face  —  while  Tio 
Lucas  looks  like  Sergeant  Utrero,  who  was  so 
ugly  he  burst." 

The  Corregidor  smiled  complacently. 

"  Besides,"  proceeded  the  alguacil,  "  Send 
Frasquita  would  throw  herself  out  of  the  window 
just  to  help  along  her  nephew's  appointment 
even  a  little — " 

"  So  far,  we  are  agreed.  That  appointment  is 
my  only  hope ! ' 

"Well,  to  work,  Senor!     I  have  alreadv  told 

'  /  t/ 

you  my  plan  —  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  put  it  into 
execution  this  very  night !  " 

"  I've  told  you  many  times  that  I  need  no  ad- 
88 


GARDUNA'S  ADVICE 


vice ! '    shouted  Don  Eugenio,  who  suddenly  re- 
membered that  he  was  talking  to  an  inferior. 
"  I  thought  Your  Worship  asked  me  for  it," 

• 

stammered  Garduiia. 

A 

"  Don't  answer  me ! ' 

Gar  dun  a  bowed. 

"  You  were  saying,"  proceeded  de  Zuuiga, 
calming  himself  once  more ;  "  that  everything  can 
be  arranged  this  very  night?  Well,  see  here,  my 
boy  -  -  it  looks  all  right  to  me !  What  the  devil ! 
In  this  way  I  shall  soon  be  rid  of  this  cruel  un- 
certainty ! ' 

Garduna  was  silent. 

The  Corregidor  went  to  a  desk  and  wrote  a 
few  lines  on  a  stamped  paper  which  he  stamped 
again  himself  and  thrust  into  his  pocket. 

"  NQW  the  nephew's  appointment  is  made!  "  he 
said,  taking  a  pinch  of  snuff.  "  Tomorrow  I 
shall  arrange  matters  with  the  Councillors  — 
and  they  wrill  either  ratify  it  unanimously,  or 
there  will  be  a  tremendous  row.  Don't  you 
think  I  am  doing  the  right  thing? ' 

"That's  it!  that's  it!"  exclaimed  Gardufia 
enthusiastically,  thrusting  his  claw  into  the  Cor- 

89 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

regidor's  snuff-box  and  snatching  some  snuff. 
"  That's  it !  that's  it !  Your  predecessor  never 
stopped  at  obstacles.  Once  — " 

"  Stop  your  nonsense !  "  replied  the  Corregidor, 
slapping  the  thievish  hand.  "  My  predecessor 
was  a  beast  -  -  especially  when  he  took  you  as  his 
alguacil.  But  to  return  to  important  matters : 
/  You  just  told  me  that  Tio  Lucas'  mill  belongs 
in  the  district  of  the  next  village.  Are  you  sure 

of  it?" 

v* 

i  Absolutely !  The  jurisdiction  of  the  City 
ends  at  the  ravine  where  I  sat  down  to  wait  for 
Your  Lordship  this  afternoon.  By  Lucifer!  If 
I  had  been  in  your  shoes ! ' 

"  Enough  ! '  shouted  Don  Eugenio.  "  You 
are  insolent!'  And,  seizing  a  half  sheet  of 
paper,  he  wrote  a  note,  sealed  it  by  folding  it  once 
or  twice,  and  handed  it  to  Garduna. 

"  Here,"  said  he  as  he  did  so ;  "  is  the  letter  to 
^fche  alcalde  of  the  Village  which  you  asked  me 
for.  You  will  explain  to  him  by  word  of  mouth 
everything  he  is  to  do.  So  you  see  I  am  follow- 
ing your  plan  to  the  letter!  Heaven  help  you 
if  you  get  me  into  a  blind  alley !  " 
90 


GARDUNA'S  ADVICE 


"  Don't  you  worry !  •  replied  Garduiia 
"  Seiior  Juan  Lopez  has  much  to  fear  from  you, 
and  as  soon  as  he  sees  Your  Worship's  signature, 
he'll  do  anything  you  ask  him  to.  KHe  owes  at 
least  a  thousand  fanegas  1  of  grain  to  the  Army 
Storehouse,  and  a  like  amount  to  the  Charity 
Storehouse!  That  last  is  contrary  to  all  law, 
since  he  is  no  widow  or  poor  farmer  to  get  the 
wheat  without  paying  interest  or  charges ;  but  a 
gambler,  a  drunkard,  and  a  scoundrel  who  is  very 
fond  of  the  ladies,  and  who  scandalizes  the  vil- 
lage -  -  And  that  man  has  authority !  That's  the 
way  of  the  world ! ' 

"  I  tell  you  to  be  still !  You  are  distracting 
me ! '  bellowed  the  Corregidor.  "  But  let  us  get 
to  the  point,"  he  added  with  a  change  of  tone. 
"  It  is  nowr  a  quarter  past  seven  —  The  first 


you  have  to  do  is  to  go  to  my  house  and  tell  my 
wife  not  to  expect  me  to  supper  or  to  bed.  Tell 
her  that  tonight  I  shall  be  working  here  until 
curfew,  and  that  then  I  shall  go  out  with  you  to 
make  a  secret  round,  to  see  if  we  cannot  .catch 

i  Fanega:  a  dry  measure  containing  about  50  quarts. 

91 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

some  criminals  ...  In  a  word,  deceive  her  well 
so  she  will  go  to  bed  and  not  worry.  On  your 
way,  tell  another  alguacil  to  bring  me  some  sup- 
per. I  don't  dare  appear  before  my  wife  tonight 
because  she  knows  me  so  well  that  she  can  read 
my  very  thoughts !  Tell  the  cook  to  put  in  some 
of  those  fritters  that  she  made  today,  and  tell 
Juanete  to  bring  me  a  pint  of  white  wine  from 
the  tavern  without  letting  any  one  see  him. 
Then  go  immediately  to  the  Village,  which  you 
can  easily  reach  by  half  past  eight." 

"  I'll  be  there  at  exactly  eight  o'clock ! '  ex- 
claimed Garduna. 

"  Don't  contradict  me ! '  roared  the  Corregi- 
dor,  again  remembering  his  official  position. 

Garduiia  bowed. 

"We  said/'  he  continued,  once  more  unbend- 
ing "  that  you  will  be  in  the  Village  at  exactly 
eight  o'clock.  From  the  Village  to  the  mill  it 
will  be  —  I  think  it  will  be  half  a  league  .  .  . 

"  Less  — " 

"  Don't  interrupt  me !  " 

The  alguacil  once  more  bowed. 
92 


GARDUNA'S  ADVICE 


"  Less,"  proceeded  the  Corregidor.  "  So,  at 
ten  o'clock-  -Do  you  think  it  will  be  ten 
o'clock?" 

"  Before  ten !  At  half  past  nine  Your  Worship 
may  knock  fearlessly  upon  the  door  of  the  mill !  " 

"  Man !  Don't  tell  me  what  I  have  to  do !  Of 
course  you  will  be  — " 

"  I  shall  be  everywhere.  But  my  headquarters 
will  be  the  ravine.  Ah!  I  forgot!  You  must 
go  afoot,  and  must  not  carry  a  lantern." 

"  Confound  you !  I  don't  need  that  advice 
either !  Do  you  think  that  this  is  the  first  time  I 
have  ever  taken  the  field?  " 

"  Pardon  me,  Your  Worship. —  Oh !  Another 
thing :     Don't  knock  at  the  large  door  that  opens  ^ 
on  the  courtyard ;  but  at  the  little  door  over  the/ 
mill-race — " 

"  Is  there  another  door  over  the  mill-race? 
Now  that  is  something  that  would  never  have 
occurred  to  me! ' 

"  Si,  Senor.  The  little  door  over  the  mill-race 
opens  right  into  their  bedroom,  and  Tio  Lucas 
never  comes  in  or  out  of  it.  So  that,  even  if  he 
should  return  suddenly  — " 

93 


\ 


\ 

THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  I  understand,  I  understand.  Don't  deafen 
my  ears  any  more ! ' 

"  Finally :  Your  Worship  must  try  to  slip 
away  before  dawn.  It  grows  light  at  six  o'clock 
now  — " 

"  There's  another  useless  piece  of  advice !  I 
shall  be  back  at  home  at  five  o'clock.  But  we've 
said  enough  now.  Leave  my  presence ! ' 

"Well  then,  Seilor-— good  luck!'  exclaimed 
the  alguacil,  holding  out  his  hand  sideways  to  the 
Corregidor  and  gazing  at  the  ceiling  as  he  did  so. 

The  Corregidor  placed  a  peseta  in  the  hand, 
and  Garduna  disappeared  as  if  by  magic. 

"  By  the  life  of  — ,"  murmured  the  old  man 
after  a  moment.  "  I  forgot  to  tell  that  idiot  to 
have  them  bring  me  a  pack  of  cards  too !  I  could 
have  amused  myself  with  them  until  nine-thirty 
by  seeing  if  the  solitaire  would  come  out  well !  — 


94 


xv 

A  PROSAIC   FAREWELL 

IT  must  have  been  about  nine  o'clock  that 
same  night  that  Tio  Lucas  and  Sena  Fras- 
quita,  after  all  the  duties  of  the  household 
had  been  attended  to,  were  supping  upon  a  dish 
of  endive  salad,  a  pound  or  so  of  meat  cooked 
with  tomatoes,  and  a  few  grapes  that  remained  in 
the  aforementioned  basket  —  the  whole  mixed 
with  a  bit  of  wine  and  much  laughter  at  the  Cor- 
regidor's  expense.  After  supper,  husband  and 
wife  looked  at  each  other  affably,  as  though  very 
content  with  God  and  with  themselves,  and  said 
between  a  couple  of  yawns  that  revealed  the  utter 
peace  and  tranquillity  of  their  hearts : 

"  Well,  let's  go  to  bed  -  -  and  tomorrow  will  be 
another  day." 

At  that  moment,  two  strong  and  authoritative 

95 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

blows  sounded  upon  the  large  outer  door  of  the 
mill. 

The  husband  and  wife  looked  at  each  other  in 
surprise. 

It  was  the  first  time  they  had  ever  heard  such 
a  summons  at  that  hour. 

"  I'm  going  to  see  who  it  is,"  said  the  intrepid 
Navarrese,  as  she  started  toward  the  courtyard. 

"  Stop !  That's  for  me  to  do !  "  cried  Tio  Lucas 
with  so  much  dignity  that  Sena  Frasquita  gave 
way  to  him.  "  I  told  you  not  to  go ! ' '  he  added, 
when  he  saw  that  his  obstinate  wife  was  trying 
to  follow  him. 

She  obeyed,  and  remained  behind  in  the  house. 

"  Who  is  it?  "  asked  Tio  Lucas  from  the  middle 
of  the  courtyard. 

"  The  Justice ! ' '  answered  a  voice  on  the  other 
side  of  the  door. 

"  What  Justice?  " 

"  The  one  from  the  Village.  Open  to  the 
Senor  Alcalde !  " 

Meanwhile  Tio  Lucas,  applying  his  eye  to  a  cer- 
tain carefully  hidden  peep-hole  in  the  door,  had 
96 


A  PROSAIC  FAREWELL 


recognized  by  the  light  of  the  moon  the  rustic 
alguacil  of  the  neighbouring  village. 

"  You'd  better  tell  me  to  open  to  the  drunken 

i    ' 

alguacil ! ' '  replied  the  miller,  lifting  the  bar. 

"  It's  all  the  same,"  answered  the  man  outside ; 
"  since  I  bring  an  «rder  written  by  His  Honour.! 
A  very  good  evening  to  you,  Tio  Lucas,"  he  added 
as  he  entered.  This  time  he  spoke  in  his  less 
official  voice,  which  was  lower  and  thicker  than 
at  first  —  as  if  he  were  now  an  entirely  different 
person. 

"  God  keep  you,  Tonuelo !  "  respondedJthe^Mur^ 
dan.  "  Let's  see  what  your  order  is.  Senor 
Juan  L6pez  might  have  chosen  a  better  time  to 
write  to  a  decent  man !  I  suppose  it's  your  fault, 
though.  Any  one  can  see  that  you've  been  get- 
:ing  drunk  in  the  orchards  along  the  way !  Will 
7ou  have  a  mouthful?  " 

"  No,  Senor ;  there  isn't  time.  You  must  fol- 
ow  me  immediately !  Read  the  order." 

"  Wrhat  do  you  mean,  follow  you?  "  exclaimed 
Clo  Lucas,  entering  the  mill  after  seizing  the 
>aper  "  Let's  have  a  light,  Frasquita ! ' 

97 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

Send  Frasquita  dropped  something  *>he  had  in 
her  hand  and  took  down  a  lamp. 

Tio  Lucas  cast  a  rapid  glance  at  the  object  his 
wife  had  dropped,  and  recognized  his  huge  bell- 
mouthed  blunderbuss  that  carried  half-pound 
balls. 

The  miller  then  directed  a  glance  full  of  grati- 
tude and  tenderness  toward  the  Navarrese,  and 
said  to  her  as  he  patted  her  cheek : 

"  What  a  wonder  you  are ! ' 

Sena  Frasquita,  pale  and  serene  as  a  statue  of 
marble,  raised  the  lamp,  which  she  had  grasped 
between  her  thumb  and  forefinger,  and  replied 
dryly : 

"  Come,  read  it !  " 

This  wras  the  order: 

For  the  better  service  of  H.  M.  the  King  our 
Lord  (Whom  God  preserve),  I  hereby  summon 
Lucas  Fernandez,  a  miller  of  this  vicinity,  as 
soon  as  he  receives  this  order,  to  appear  before 
my  authority  without  any  excuses  or  pretexts 
whatsoever ;  and  I  do  hereby  notify  him,  that  be- 
ing a  private  matter,  he  must  not  take  any  one 
into  his  confidence:  all  this  under  suitable  pun- 
ishment in  case  of  disobedience. 

—  The  Alcalde :  JUAN  LOPEZ. 

98 


A  PROSAIC  FAREWELL 


Instead  of  a  flourish  there  was  a  cross. 

"Here,  you!  What  does  this  mean?"  Tio 
Lucas  questioned  the  alguacil.  "  What  is  this 
order  for?  " 

"  I  don't  know  " ;  replied  the  rustic,-  -  a  man 
about  thirty  years  old,  whose  angular  and  irreg- 
ular features,  like  those  of  a  thief  or  an  assassin, 
gave  a  very  poor  idea  of  his  sincerity.  "  I  think 
it  has  something  to  do  with  witchcraft  or  coun- 
terfeit money  —  But  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
you  —  They  are  calling  you  as  a  witness  or  an 
expert.  In  short,  I  didn't  learn  the  particulars 
.  .  .  Senor  Juan  Lopez  will  explain  it  to  you  in 
more  detail." 

"  All  right !  "  exclaimed  the  miller.  "  Tell  him 
that  I'll  come  tomorrow." 

"  Ca!  No,  Senor!  You  must  come  right  now 
without  losing  a  minute.  That  is  the  order  the 
Senor  Alcalde  gave  me." 

There  wras  an  instant  of  silence. 

Sena  Frasquita's  eyes  were  aflame. 

Tio  Lucas  never  lifted  his  own  from  the  floor, 
as  if  he  were  looking  for  something  there. 

"  At  least  you  will  give  me  time  enough  to  go 

99 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

to  the  stable  and  saddle  a  burra,"  he  exclaimed 

finally  as  he  lifted  his  head. 

"What  the  devil  do  you  want  with  a  burra!' 

replied  the  alguacil.     "  Anybody  can  walk  half  a 

league !     It's  a  beautiful  night,  and  the  moon  is 

out  — " 

"  I  know  it  is  —  but  my  feet  are  very  swollen." 
"  Then  we  mustn't  lose  any  time.     I'll  help 

you  saddle  the  beast." 

r"  Oho !     Oho !     So  you  are  afraid  I'll  escape?  ' 
"  I'm  not  afraid  of  anything,  Tio  Lucas,"  re- 
plied Tonuelo  with  the  coldness  of  a  dead  man. 
"  I  am  the  Justice." 

And  as  he  spoke,  he  grounded  arms;  by  which 
manoeuvre  he  let  them  see  the  fowling-piece  he 
carried  beneath  his  cloak. 

"Well,  look  here,  Tonuelo,"  said  the  miller's 
wife.     "  Now  that  you  are  going  to  the  stable  — 
to  exercise  your  true  office, —  do  me  the  favour  of 
saddling  the  other  burra  too." 

"  What  for?  "  questioned  the  miller. 
.  , .v 

:  For  me!  —  I'm  going  with  you." 

Vy1*7        -^ 

That  won't  do,  Sena  Frasquita,"  objected  the 
alguacil.  "  I  have  my  orders  to  take  your  hus- 
100 


A  PROSAIC  FAREWELL 

band,  and  that's  all ;  and  to  prevent  your  follow-/ 
ing  him.    And  my  '  position  and  neck '  depend  A 
on  it.     That  is  what  Senor  Juan  Lopez  told  me.  7 
So,  come  on,  Tio  Lucas  — " 

And  he  started  for  the  door. 

"  It's  the  strangest  thing ! "  said  the  Murcian 
in  a  low  voice,  without  stirring. 

"  Very  strange,''  answered  Sefia  Frasquita. 

"  Something  is  up  —  I  know  that,"  Tio  Lucas 
continued  to  whisper  in  order  to  prevent  Tofiuelo 
from  hearing  him. 

"  Do  you  want  me  to  go  to  the  City,"  whis- 
pered the  Navarrese,  "  and  tell  the  Corregidor 
what  is  happening  to  us?  ' 

"  No !  "  replied  Tio  Lucas  aloud.     "  Not  that ! " 

"  Then  what  do  you  want  me  to  do?  "  said  his 
wife  vehemently. 

"  Look  at  me,"  replied  the  old  soldier. 

Husband  and  wife  looked  at  each  other  in 
silence,  and  were  both  so  satisfied  with  the  tran- 
quility,  the  resolution,  and  the  energy  that  their 
souls  communicated  to  each  other,  that  they 
ended  by  shrugging  their  shoulders  and  laughing. 

After  this,  Tio  Lucas  lit  another  lamp  and 

101 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

made  his  way  to  the  stable;  remarking  slyly  to 
Tofiuelo  on  the  way: 

"  Come  on  and  help  me,  man !  Since  you  are 
so  kind ! " 

Tonuelo  followed  him,  humming  a  song  be- 
tween his  teeth. 

A  few  minutes  later,  Tio  Lucas  left  the  mill 
mounted  on  a  beautiful  burra  and  followed  by 
the  alguacil. 

The  couple's  farewell  had  been  reduced  to  the 
following : 

"  Lock  up  tight,"  said  Tio  Lucas. 

"Wrap  yourself  up;  it's  pretty  cold/'  said 
Sena  Frasquita,  as  she  locked  the  door  with  key, 
bolt,  and  bar. 

/    And  there  was  no  other  word  of  good-bye,  nor 
[  kiss,  nor  embrace,  nor  glance. 
V    Why? 


102 


XVI 

A   BIRD   OF. EVIL   PORTENT 

LET  us  now  follow  Tio  Lucas. 
They   had   travelled   a  quarter  of   a 
league  without  saying  a  word  —  the  mil- 

i 

ler  mounted  on  his  burra,  and  the  alguacil  urging 
it  on  with  his  staff  of  office  —  when  they  dis- 
cerned on  top  of  a  rise  in  the  road  ahead  of  them 
the  approaching  shadow  of  a  monstrous  bird.  _. 

The  shadow  stood  out  sharply  against  the  sky, 
which  was  illumined  by  the  moon,  and  was  so 
wrell  outlined  against  it  that  the  miller  exclaimed 
at  once : 

"  Toiiuelo,  that  is  Garduna  with  his  three-* 
cornered  hat  and  his  spindle-shanks !  " 

But  before  the  person  spoken  to  could  answer, 
the  shadow,  doubtless  desirous  of  avoiding  that 
encounter,  had  left  the  road  and  begun  to  run 
across  country  with  the  speed  of  a  weasel. 

103 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  I  don't  see  anybody,"  replied  Toiiuelo  with 
the  greatest  of  ease. 

"  Neither  do  I,"  rejoined  Tio  Lucas,  seeing  that 

i 

something  was  up. 

But  the  suspicion  which  had  already  occurred 
to  him  in  the  mill,  began  to  take  shape  and  sub 
stance  in  the  mind  of  the  jealous  hunchback. 

"  This  trip  of  mine,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  is 
a  strategern  of  the  amorous  Corregidor's.  The 
declaration  which  I  heard  him  make  this  after- 
noon from  my  place  on  top  of  the  grape  arbour 
proves  to  my  mind  that  the  little  old  Madrilene 
can  wait  no  longer.  Indubitably  he  is  going 
back  to  the  mill  tonight,  and  that  is  why  he  has 
begun  by  getting  -me  out  of  the  way.  But,  what 
of  it?  Frasquita  is  Frasquita  —  and  she  would 
never  open  the  door  even  if  they  set  the  house 
on  fire!  Besides:  even  if  she  should  open  it; 
even  if  the  Corregidor  should  succeed  by  means 
of  some  deception  or  other  in  surprising  my  ex- 
cellent Navarrese,  the  old  rascal  would  leave 
with  his  head  in  his  hands.  Frasquita  is  Fras- 
quita!—  Nevertheless,"  he  added  after  a  mo- 
104 


A  BIRD  OF  EVIL  PORTENT 


ment,  "  it  will  be  just  as  well  to  get  back  home 
tonight  as  soon  as  I  possibly  can ! ' 

At  this  point,  Tio  Lucas  and  the  alguacil  ar- 
rived at  the  Village  and  made  their  way  to  the 
house  of  the  Sefior  Alcalde. 


105 


XVII 

A  COUNTRY  ALCALDE 

SENOR  JUAN  LOPEZ,  both  as  a  private 
citizen  and  as  an  alcalde  was  tyranny, 
ferocity,  and  pride  personified  (when  he 
dealt  with  his  inferiors) .  However,  at  that  hour 
of  the  night,  after  dispatching  his  official  duties 
and  his  private  agricultural  business,  and  after 
giving  his  wife  her  daily  beating,  he  condescended 
to  drink  a  jar  of  wine  in  the  company  of  his  secre- 
tary and  the  sacristan  —  an  operation  that  was 
more  than  half  finished  when  the  miller  appeared 
before  his  presence. 

"  Hello,  Tio  Lucas !  "  he  said  to  him,  scratching 
his  head  to  stir  up  his  vein  of  lies.  "  How's 
your  health?  Here,  Secretary;  hand  Tio  Lucas 
a  glass  of  wine!  And  Sena  Frasquita?  Is  she 
still  keeping  her  beauty?  I  haven't  seen  her  for 
a  long  time  now.  But,  man  alive  —  how  fine  the 
grist  is  these  days !  Our  rye  bread  looks  as  if  it 
106 


A  COUNTRY  ALCALDE 


were  made  of  winter  wheat !  Well  —  here !  Sit 
down  and  rest  yourself!  Thank  God  we  aren't 
in  any  hurry ! ' 

"  Devil  a  bit  on  my  part,"  answered  Tio  Lucas, 
who  up  to  that  point  had  not  opened  his  lips,  but 
whose  suspicions  were  augmenting  more  and 
more  as  he  saw  the  friendly  reception  he  was 
given  after  such  a  terrible  and  urgent  message. 

"  Well  then,  Tio  Lucas,"  continued  the  alcalde, 
"  Inasmuch  as  you  aren't  in  any  great  hurry,  you 
will  sleep  here  tonight,  and  tomorrow  morning 
we  shall  dispatch  our  little  business  — " 

"  All  right,"  responded  Tio  Lucas  with  an 
irony  and  a  feigned  innocence  that  were  by  no 
means  inferior  to  the  diplomacy  of  Senor  Juan 
L6pez.  "  Since  the  case  is  not  urgent,  I'll  spend 
the  night  away  from  home." 

"  Neither  urgent,  nor  of  any  danger  to  your- 
self," added  the  alcalde,  deceived  by  him  whom 
he  thought  to  deceive.  "  You  may  be  completely 
at  your  ease.  Here  you,  Tonuelo  .  .  .  Bring  out 
that  half -keg  so  Tio  Lucas  can  sit  down." 

"  Well,  let's  have  another  drink !  "  exclaimed 
the  miller  as  he  sat  down. 

107 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  Here  you  are ! '  replied  the  alcalde,  handing 
him  a  full  glass. 

"  It's  in  good  hands  —  take  half  of  it." 

"  Well,  here's  to  your  health ! '  said  Seiior 
Juan  Lopez,  drinking  half  the  wine. 

"  Here's  to  yours,  Senor  Alcalde,"  replied  Tio 
Lucas,  draining  the  remaining  half. 

"  Here,  Manuela ! '  the  country  alcalde 
shouted.  "  Tell  your  mistress  that  Tio  Lucas  is 
going  to  sleep  here  tonight.  Tell  her  to  make 
him  up  a.  bed  in  the  granary  — " 

"  Ca!  No  —  by  no  means!  I'll  sleep  in  the 
straw  like  a  king." 

"  See  here ;  we  have  some  bedding  - 

"  Of  course !  But  why  do  you  wish  to  dis- 
turb the  family?  I  have  my  cloak - 

"Well,  Senor;  as  you  wish.  Manuela!  Tell 
your  mistress  to  never  mind  — " 

"  What  you  realty  can  let  me  do,"  continued 
Tio  Lucas  with  an  atrocious  yawn,  "  is  to  go  to 
bed  immediately.  I  had  a  lot  of  grist  last  night, 
and  I  haven't  had  a  chance  to  close  my  eyes 
since." 
108 


A  COUNTRY  ALCALDE 


"  Granted ! '  replied  the  alcalde  majestically. 
"  You  may  retire  when  you  wish." 

"  I  think  it  is  time  for  us  to  retire  also,"  said 
the  sacristan,  peeping  into  the  wine  jar  to  esti- 
mate the  amount  left.  "  It  must  be  ten  o'clock,  x 

/ 

or  a  little  less." 

"  Just  a  quarter  to  ten,"  announced  the  sec- 
retary after  pouring  the  rest  of  the  wine  that 
was  due  them  that  evening  into  the  glasses. 

"  Well,  to  bed,  Senores ! '  exclaimed  the  host 
as  he  drained  his  share.  ^ 

"  Until  tomorrow,  Senores,"  added  the  miller 
as  he  drank  his. 

"  Wait  until  they  bring  you  a  light.  Tonuelo ! 
Show  Tio  Lucas  to  the  straw  loft." 

"  This  way,  Tio  Lucas ! ' '  said  Tonuelo,  taking 
the  jar  with  him  in  the  hope  that  there  might 
be  a  few^  drops  left. 

"  Until  tomorrow,  God  willing,"  added  the 
sacristan,  after  draining  all  the  glasses. 

And  he  went  out  —  staggering,  and  joyfully 
singing  the  De  Profundis. 


109 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

V  

c\  y  t, 

"  Well,  Seiior,"  said  the  alcalde  to  the  secre- 
tary when  they  were  alone ;  Tio  Lucas  never 
suspected  a  thing!  We  can  go  to  bed  in  peace, 
and  —  much  good  may  it  do  the  Corregidor !  " 


110 


I 

XVIII 


IN   WHICH   IT  IS  SEEN   THAT  TIO   LUCAS 
SLEPT  VERY   LIGHTLY 


FIVE  minutes  later,  a  man  swung  down 
from  the  window  of  the  Sefior  Alcalde's 
straw  loft;  a  window  which  opened  on 
the  corral,  and  which  was  distant  not  more  than 
four  yards  from  the  ground. 

In  the  corral  there  was  a  shelter  built  over  a 
long  row  of  mangers  to  which  were  tied  six  or 
eight  horses  of  diverse  lineage,  though  all  of 
them  of  the  weaker  sex.  The  horses,  mules,  and 
burros  of  the  stronger  sex  formed  a  camp  apart 
in  a  contiguous  spot. 

The  man  untied  a  burra  which  was,  of  course, 
saddled,  and  started  toward  the  corral  gate, 
leading  her  by  the  halter.  He  lifted  the  bar 
and  slid  back  the  bolt  that  secured  the  gate, 

111 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

opened  it  very  cautiously,  and  found  himself  in 
the  open  country. 

Once  there,  he  mounted  the  burra,  gave  her  a 
good  kick,  and  sped  like  an  arrow  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  City  —  not  by  the  ordinary  road,  how- 
ever, but  across  sown  fields  and  ravines,  as  one 
who  is  on  his  guard  against  some  evil  encounter. 

It  was  Tio  Lucas,  on  his  way  to  the  mill. 


112 


XIX 

VOICES  CRYING  IN   THE   WILDERNESS 

LCALDES  to  me:  I'm  from  Arch- 
ena !  "  the  Murcian  kept  saying  to 
himself.  "  Tomorrow  morning,  as  a 
preventive  measure,  I'll  go  and  see  the  Sellor 
Bishop  and  tell  him  everything  that  has  hap- 
pened tonight!  To  call  me  in  such  haste  and 
secrecy  at  such  an  unusual  hour ;  to  tell  me  that 
I  must  go  alone;  to  speak  of  the  service  of  the 
King,  and  counterfeit  money,  and  witchcraft,  and 
goblins,  just  to  hand  me  two  glasses  of  wine  and 
send  me  to  bed!  It  couldn't  be  plainer!  Gar- 
dufia  brought  those  instructions  to  the  Village 
for  the  Corregidor,  and  about  this  time  the  Cor- 
regidor  will  be  taking  the  field  against  my  wife 
- 1  might  even  find  him  knocking  at  the  mill 
door!  I  might  even  find  him  inside!  I 
might  — ; !  But  what  was  I  going  to  say? 

113 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

Doubt  my  Navarrese?     Oh,   that  would  be  to 

I 

offend  God !  It  is  impossible  that  she  -  Im- 
possible that  my  Frasquita  —  !  Impossible  —  ! 
But  what  am  I  saying?  Is  anything  in  this 
world  impossible?  Didn't  she  marry  me-  -she 
so  pretty,  and  I  so  ugly?  " 

And  as  he  voiced  this  last  reflection,  the  poor 
hunchback  began  to  weep.  .  .  . 

Just  then  the  burra  stopped  to  rest.  He  dried 
his  tears;  breathed  a  deep  sigh;  took  out  his 
smoking  materials ;  broke  up  and  rolled  a  cigar- 
ette of  black  tobacco;  took  his  flint  and  tinder 
and  steel;  and  after  a  few  blows,  succeeded  in 
striking  a  light. 

At  that  very  moment  he  heard  the  sound  of 
footsteps  toward  the  road  some  three  hundred 
rods  away. 

"  How  imprudent  I  am ! '  he  said.  "  What  if 
the  Justice  were  already  looking  for  me,  and  I 
had  given  myself  away  by  striking  a  light ! ' 

So  he  concealed  the  fire  and  dismounted,  hid- 
ing himself  behind  the  burra. 

But  the  burra,  having  a  different  idea  about 
the  matter,  gave  vent  to  a  bray  of  satisfaction. 
114 


VOICES  CRYING  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

"  Confound  you ! '    cried  Tio  Lucas,  trying  to 
close  her  mouth  with  his  hands. 
At  the  same  time,  by  way  of  a  gallant  reply, 

another  bray  resounded  in  the  road. 

*f 

"  Now  we  are  in  a  pickle!  "  thought  the  miller. 
"  The  proverb  is  right :  the  worst  of  all  evils  is 
that  of  dealing  with  animals!" 

And  discoursing  thus,  he  remounted,  clucked 
to  his  beast,  and  was  off  like  a  shot  in  the  opposite 
direction  to  that  from  which  the  second  bray  had 
sounded. 

The  most  peculiar  part  of  it  was  that  the  per- 
son who  was  riding  the  donkey  interlocutor  must 
have  been  as  frightened  as  Tio  Lucas  was.  I  say 
this  because  whoever  it  was  also  left  the  road, 
doubtless  fearing  that  Tio  Lucas  was  an  alguacil 
or  an  evil-doer  in  the  pay  of  Don  Eugenio,  and 
rushed  off  through  the  sown  fields  on  the  other 
side. 

Meanwhile  the  Murcian  continued  to  rumi- 
nate as  follows: 

"What  a  night!  What  a  world!  Wha^S 
life  I  have  led  for  the  past  hour!  A!Vucas 

turned  procurers ;  alcaldes  conspiring  ag 

117 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

honour;  burros  braying  when  it  wasn't  neces- 
sary; and  here,  in  my  breast,  a  miserable  heart 
that  dares  doubt  the  noblest  woman  God  ever 
created!  Oh!  My  God,  my  God!  Help  me  to 
get  home  quickly  and  to  find  my  Frasquita 
there !  " 

Tio  Lucas  proceeded  on  his  way,  across  sown 
ground  and  stubble-fields,  until  at  last,  at  about 
eleven  o'clock,  he  arrived  without  further  mishap 
at  the  large  outer  door  of  the  mill.  .  .  . 

Damnation !     The  mill  door  was  open ! 


1L 

« . 
*i 

B 

the  ma, 
114 


XX 

DOUBT  AND   REALITY 

IT  was  open  —  and  when  he  left  he  had  heard 
his  wife  close  it  with  key,  bar  and  bolt ! 
Therefore,  no  one  else  but  his  wife  could 
have  opened  it. 

But  how?  when?  why?  —  Through  some  trick? 
On  account  of  some  order?  Or  very  deliberately 
and  voluntarily,  by  virtue  of  a  previous  agree- 
ment with  the  Corregidor? 

What  was  he  going  to  see?  What  was  he  going 
to  learn?  What  awaited  him  within  his  house? 
Had  Sena  Frasquita  run  off?  Had  they  stolen 
her?  Was  she  dead?  Or  was  she  in  the  arms 
of  his  rival? 

"  The  Corregidor  counted  upon  my  not  being 
able  to  get  back  here  all  night,"  said  Tio  Lucas 
to  himself  lugubriously.  "  The  alcalde  of  the 

117 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

Village  must  have  had  orders  to  put  ine  in 
chains  if  necessary  to  keep  me  from  coming  back. 
.  .  .  Did  Prasquita  know  all  this?  Was  she  in 
the  plot?  Or  has  she  been  the  victim  of  de- 
ception, or  of  violence,  or  of  infamy?  ' 

The  unfortunate  man  spent  no  more  time  on 
these  cruel  reflections  than  it  took  to  cross  the 
pavement  under  the  grape  arbour. 

The  door  of  the  house  was  also  open.  As  in 
all  country  houses,  the  first  room  was  the 
kitchen.  .  .  . 

There  was  no  one  in  the  kitchen. 

Nevertheless,  there  was  a  huge  blaze  roaring 
in  the  fireplace  -  -  which  he  had  left  cold,  and 
which  was  never  lit  until  late  in  the  month  of 
December ! 

Finally,  from  one  of  the  hooks  on  the  shelf 
hung  a  lighted  lamp.  .  .  . 

What  did  all  this  mean?  And  how  did  such 
signs  of  wakefulness  and  sociability  tally  with 
the  deathlike  silence  that  reigned  in  the  house? 

What  had  become  of  his  wife? 

Then,  and  then  only  did  Tio  Lucas  become 
j  aware  of  some  clothes  that  were  hung  on  the 
^ 


DOUBT  AND  REALITY 


backs  of  two  or  three  chairs  placed  near  the 
fireplace.  .  .  . 

He  gazed  at  those  clothes  and  gave  vent  to 
such  an  intense  groan  that  it  stuck  in  his  throat 
and  changed  into  a  mute  and  stifled  sob. 

The  poor  unfortunate  thought  that  he  was 
going  to  choke,  and  he  lifted  his  hands  to  his 
neck,  as  livid,  convulsed,  his  eyes  starting  from 
their  sockets,  he  gazed  upon  that  clothing,  pos- 
sessed with  as  much  horror  as  the  criminal  to 
whom  they  present  the  black  robe  of  execution. 

For  what  he  saw  there  was  the  scarlet  cloak, 
the  three-corned  hat,  the  dove-coloured  tunic  and 
waistcoat,  the  black  silk  breeches,  the  white 
stockings,  the  buckled  shoes,  and  even  the  staff, 
the  sword,  and  the  gloves  of  the  execrable  Cor- 
regidor.  What  he  saw  there  was  the  execution 
robe  of  his  ignominy,  the  shroud  of  his  honour, 
the  winding-sheet  of  his  good  fortune! 

The  terrible  blunderbuss  stood  in  the  same 
corner  in  which  the  Navarrese  had  left  it  two 
hours  before.  .  .  . 


x  ]/ 

tfeer-lil 


Tio  Lucas  gave  a  tfger-like  leap  and  possessed 
himself  of  it.     He  sounded  the  barrel  with  the 

119 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

ramrod  and  found  that  it  was  loaded;  glanced 
at  the  flint  and  saw  that  it  was  in  place. 

He  then  turned  toward  the  stairway  which 
led  to  the  room  where  he  had  slept  so  many  years 
with  Sen&  Frasquita,  and  murmured  thickly: 

"  They  are  there !  " 

Then  he  took  a  step  in  that  direction,  but  im- 
mediately stopped  and  looked  about  him  to  see 
if  any  one  were  watching  him.  .  .  . 

"Not  a  soul!"  he  said  to  himself.  "Only 
God  —  and  He  —  has  wished  this !  " 

His  determination  thus  strengthened,  he  was 
about  to  take  another  step,  when  his  errant  vision 
fell  upon  a  bit  of  paper  which  lay  upon  the 
table.  .  .  . 

To  see  it,  to  pounce  upon  it,  and  to  have  it  in 
his  claws  was  only  a  matter  of  a  second. 

That  paper  was  the  appointment  of  Sen  A  Fras- 
quita's  nephew,  signed  by  Don  Eugenio  de  Zuniga 
y  Ponce  de  Le6n ! 

"  That  was  the  price  of  the  bargain !  "  thought 
Tio  Lucas,  thrusting  the  paper  in  his  mouth  in 
order  to  stifle  his  cries  and  to  give  food  to  his 
rage.  "  I  was  always  afraid  that  she  liked  her 
120 


DOUBT  AND  REALITY 


family  better  than  she  did  me!     Ah!     We  have 
no  children !  —  That  is  the  cause  of  it  all ! ' 

The  poor  unfortunate  was  on  the  point  of  weep- 
ing again. 

But  then  his  fury  returned,  and  he  said  with 
a  terrible  gesture  rather  than  with  his  voice : 

"  Upstairs !     Upstairs ! ' 

And  he  began  to  climb  the  stairs,  creeping 
along  on  all  fours,  carrying  the  blunderbuss  in 
one  hand,  and  the  infamous  paper  between  his 
teeth. 

In  corroboration  of  his  logical  suspicions,  as 
he  neared  the  door  of  his  bedroom  (which  was 
closed),  he  saw  a  few  rays  of  light  shining 
through  the  cracks  in  the  boards,  and  through  the 
keyhole. 

"  They  are  in  there !  "  he  said  again. 

And  he  paused  an  instant  as  though  to  swallow 
this  new  draught  of  bitterness. 

Then  he  went  on  —  until  he  reached  the  very 
door  of  the  bedroom. 

Within,  not  a  sound  could  be  heard. 

"If  only  no  one  were  there ! '  Hope  said  to 
him  timidly. 

121 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

But  at  that  very  instant  the  unhappy  man 
heard  a  cough  within  the  room.  .  .  . 

It  was  the  half -asthmatic  cough  of  the  Cor- 
regidor ! 

There  was  no  room  for  doubt  now !  There  was 
no  life-saving  plank  in  that  shipwreck ! 

The  miller  grinned  in  the  darkness  in  a  horri- 
ble manner.  Why  do  not  flashes  like  that  shine 
in  the  darkness?  What  are  all  the  fires  of  tor- 
ment compared  to  those  which  sometimes  burn 
in  the  heart  of  man? 

Still,  such  was  the  make-up  of  Tio  Lucas'  soul 
(as  we  have  remarked  elsewhere),  that  no  sooner 
had  he  heard  his  enemy's  cough  than  be  began 
to  calm  down.  .  .  . 

The  reality  hurt  him  less  than  the  doubt.  As 
he  himself  had  declared  that  afternoon  to  Send 
Frasquita,  from  the  very  hour  and  second  in 
which  he  lost  the  only  faith  which  was  the  life  of 
his  soul,  he  began  to  change  into  a  different  man. 

Like  the  Moor  of  Venice  (to  whom  we  com- 
pared him  when  we  were  describing  his  char- 
acter), the  disappointment  had  destroyed  all  his 
love  at  one  blow;  transfiguring  the  character  of 
122 


DOUBT  AND  REALITY 


his  mind,  and  making  him  look  upon  the  world  as 
a  strange  region  into  which  he  had  just  arrived. 
The  only  difference  lay  in  the  fact  that  Tio 
Lucas  was  less  tragic  by  disposition,  less  austere, 
and  more  selfish  than  the  insensate  sacrificer  of 
Desdemona. 

A  strange  thing,  but  peculiar  to  such  situa- 
tions! Doubt,  or  rather,  Hope  (for  in  this  case 
they  are  the  same)  once  more  returned  to  mortify 
him  a  moment.  .  .  . 

"  If  only  I  were  mistaken !  "  he  thought.     "  If  l 
that  had  been  Frasquita's  cough !  " — 

In  the  tribulation  of  his  calamity,  he  forgot 
that  he  had  seen  the  Corregidor's  clothes  near  the 
fireplace ;  that  he  had  found  the  mill  door  open ; 
that  he  had  read  the  credentials  of  her  infamy 

He  stooped  then,  and  looked  through  the  key- 
hole, trembling  with  uncertainty  and  anguish. 

His  field  of  vision  only  succeeded  in  embracing 
a  small  triangle  near  the  head  of  the  bed  —  But 
exactly  within  that  little  triangle,  he  could  see 
the  end  of  a  pillow;  and  upon  that  pillow,  the 
Corregidor's  head! 

123 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

Another  diabolical  grin  distorted  the  miller's 
face. 

One  might  have  almost  said  that  he  was  again 
happy.  .  .  . 

"  I  am  the  master  of  the  truth !  —  Let  us  think 
this  over ! '  he  whispered,  quietly  standing  up- 
right. 

Then  he  descended  the  stairs  with  the  same 
caution  he  had  exercised  in  mounting  them. 

"  It  is  a  delicate  matter.  ...  I  must  reflect 
upon  it.  I  have  more  than  time  enough  for 
everything  "  he  thought  as  he  descended. 

As  soon  as  he  had  reached  the  kitchen,  he  sat 
down  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  and  hid  his  face 
in  his  hands. 

Thus  he  remained  for  a  long  time-  -until  he 
was  aroused  from  his  meditations  by  a  slight 
blow  upon  one  of  his  feet.  .  .  . 

It  was  the  blunderbuss,  which  had  slid  from 
his  knees  and  had  nudged  him,  as  it  were.  .  .  . 

"  No !  I  tell  you ;  no ! '  whispered  Tio  Lucas, 
facing  the  weapon.  "  I  don't  need  you !  Every- 
body would  be  sorry  for  them,  and  they  would 
hang  me !  It  is  an  affair  with  a  corregidor,  and 
124 


DOUBT  AND  REALITY 


to  kill  a  corregidor  is  still  something  inexcusable 
in  Spain !  They  would  say  that  I  had  killed  him 
on  account  of  a  groundless  jealousy,  and  that  I 
then  undressed  him  and  put  him  in  my  bed.  .  .  . 
Then  they  would  say  that  I  killed  my  wife  on  a 
mere  suspicion.  .  .  .  And  they  would  hang  me! 
Indeed  they  would!-  Besides,  I  would  have 
shown  signs  of  having  very  little  strength  and 
talent  if.  at  the  end  of  mv  life,  I  were  to  be 

V 

worthy  of  compassion !  Everybody  would  laugh 
at  me !  They  would  say  that  my  misfortune  was 
very  natural  because  I  was  a  hunchback  and 
Frasquita  so  pretty !  Nothing  of  the  sort !  No ! 
What  I  need  is  vengeance;  and  after  avenging 
myself,  I  must  triumph,  scorn,  laugh,  laugh  hard, 
laugh  at  everybody  .  .  .  and  so  prevent  any- 
body from  ever  mocking  the  hump  that  I  have 
succeeded  in  making  even  enviable,  and  which 
would  look  so  grotesque  on  the  gallows ! ' 

And  so  Tio  Lucas  rambled  on,  scarcely  heeding, 
perhaps,  what  he  said.  But  as  a  result  of  the 
above  discourse,  he  put  the  weapon  back  in  its 
place  and  began  to  pace  to  and  fro  with  his  hands 
Dehind  his  back  and  his  head  bowed,  as  though 

125 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

seeking  his  vengeance  on  the  floor,  in  the  earth, 
among  the  ruins  of  his  life,  or  in  some  ignomini- 
ous and  ridiculous  prank  that  he  intended  to 
play  upon  his  wife  and  the  Corregidor;  rather 
than  in  justice,  in  a  duel,  in  forgiveness,  or  in 
heaven  —  as  any  other  man  in  his  place  would 
have  done  who  was  less  rebellious  against  all  im- 
positions of  nature,  of  society,  or  of  his  own  feel- 
ings. 

Suddenly  his  eyes  rested  upon  the  Corregi- 
dor's  clothes. 

Then  he  stood  still. 

Next,  little  by  little,  an  indefinable  expression 
of  joy,  of  happiness,  and  of  triumph  took  pos- 
session of  his  features  .  .  .  until  at  last,  he  be- 
gan to  laugh  in  a  terrifying  manner  .  .  .  that  is, 
f  heartily,  but  without  making  a  sound  ( to  prevent 
J  those  upstairs  from  hearing  him)  ;  holding  his 
sides  to  keep  from  bursting,  shivering  like  an 
ji  epileptic,  and  ending  by  falling  into  a  chair  until 
the  convulsion  of  sarcastic  joy  was  over.  It  was 
genuinely  Mephistophelian  laughter. 

No  sooner  had  he  calmed  himself  than  he  be- 
gan to  undress  with  feverish  haste.  He  hung  all 
126 


DOUBT  AND  REALITY 


his  clothes  upon  the  same  chairs  that  had  been 
occupied  by  those  of  the  Corregidor;  put  on  the 
garments  that  belonged  to  that  gentleman  — 
from  the  buckled  shoes  to  the  three-cornered  hat; 
buckled  on  the  sword;  wrapped  himself  up  in 
the  scarlet  cloak ;  seized  the  staff  and  the  gloves ; 
left  the  mill,  and  took  the  road  toward  the  City, 
swaying  from  side  to  side  exactly  as  Don  Eugenio 
de  Zuniga  was  wont  to  do,  and  repeating  from 
time  to  time  the  following  phrase,  which  epik 
omized  his  thoughts : 

"  The  Corregidor's  wife  is  pretty  too !  " 


127 


XXI 

ON   GUARD,   CABALLERO! 

LET  us  abandon  Tio  Lucas  for  the  nonce 
and  find  out  what  took  place  at  the  mill 
from  the  time  when  we  left  Senk  Fras- 
quita  there  alone  until  her  husband  returned  and 
encountered  such  stupendous  and  important  mat- 
ters. 

About  an  hour  had  elapsed  after  Tio  Lucas 
went  off  with  Tonuelo,  when  the  afflicted  Navar- 
rese,  who  had  determined  not  to  retire  until  her 
husband  returned,  and  who  was  knitting  in  her 
bedroom,  which  was  on  the  second  floor,  heard 
pitiful  cries  outside  the  house  in  the  direction  of 
the  place  through  which  the  water  of  the  mill- 
race  ran. 

"  Help !  I'm  drowning !  Frasquita !  Fras- 
quita ! ?  called  a  man's  voice  in  the  sad  accents 
of  despair. 

"  Can  it  be  Lucas? '  thought  the  Navarrese, 
128 


ON  GUARD,  CABALLERO! 


full  of  a  terror  which  we  have  no  need  to 
scribe. 

In  the  bedroom  itself  there  was  a  very  small 
door  of  which  Garduna  has  already  spoken ;  and    , 
it  opened  directly  upon  the  deepest  part  of  the       j 
mill-race.     Sen£  Frasquita  opened  it  without  hes- 
itation as  she  could  not  recognize  the  voice  that 
was  crying  for  help,  and  found  herself  face  to 
face  with  the  Corregidor  who  at  that  moment 
was  arising  dripping  from  the  extremely  swift 
watercourse.  .  .  . 

"  God  forgive  me !  God  forgive  me ! '  stut- 
tered the  infamous  old  man.  "  I  thought  I  was 
drowning ! " 

"What!  It's  you?  What  does  this  mean? 
How  dare  you?  What  are  you  doing  here  at  this 
time  of  night?  "  cried  the  miller's  wife  with  more 
indignation  than  terror;  but  mechanically  step- 
Ding  back. 

"  Hush !  Hush,  woman !  "  stammered  the  Cor- 
•egidor,  gliding  behind  her  into  the  room.  "  I'll 
ell  you  all  about  it.  ...  I  came  near  drown- 
og!  {The  water  carried  me  off  like  a  feather! 
<ook,  look  what  it  has  done  to  men" 


'  129 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"Get  out  of  here!"  replied  Sena  Frasquita 
>ith  more  violence  than  before.  "You  can  ex- 
plain nothing  to  me!  I  understand  it  all  too 
well!  What  do  I  care  if  you  drown!  Did  I 
send  for  you?  Ah!  What  an  outrage!  So  this 
is  why  you  ordered  them  to  take  away  my  hus- 
band !  " 

"  Listen,  woman  — " 

"I  shan't  listen!  Leave  this  house  at  once, 
Seiior  Corregidor!  Leave  it;  or  I  shan't  be  re- 
sponsible for  your  life !  " 

"  What  are  you  saying?  7 

"  What  you  just  heard !  My  husband  isn't  in 
the  house,  but  I  am  perfectly  able  to  make  you 
respect  it.  Go  back  the  way  you  came  if  you 
don't  want  me  to  throw  you  into  the  water  again 
with  my  own  hands ! ' 

"  Child,  child !  Don't  shout  so  loud  -  I'm  not 
deaf!1  exclaimed  the  old  libertine.  "I  came 
here  for  a  purpose !  I  came  to  liberate  Tio  Lucas, 
who  was  arrested  by  mistake  by  a  country  al- 
calde. .  .  .  But  first  of  all,  I  must  have  you  dry 
these  clothes  —  I  am  drenched  to  the  skin !  " 

"  I  tell  you  to  go  away !  " 
130 


ON  GUARD,  CABALLEKO! 


"  Hush,  you  fool !  W^at  can  you  do?  See 
here ;  I  have  brought  you  your^neg£ew?s  appoint- 
ment. .  .  .  Light  the  lamp  and  we'll  have  a  chat. 
.  .  .  In  the  meantime,  while  you  are  drying  my 
clothes,  I  shall  get  into  this  bed  — " 

"  A-ha!  So  you  admit  you  came  for  me?  So 
you  admit  that  this  is  why  you  had  my  Lucas 
arrested?  So  you  brought  your  appointment 
and  all?  By  all  the  Saints  of  heaven!  What 
did  this  booby  think  I  was?  " 

"  Frasquita  I     I  am  the  Corregidor ! ' 

"  I  don't  care  if  you  are  the  King !  What  dif- 
ference does  it  make  to  me,  eh?  I  am  my  hus- 
band's wife  and  the  mistress  of  my  household! 
Do  you  think  I  am  afraid  of  corregidors?  I 
can  easily  go  to  Madrid,  and  to  the  end  of  the 
world  if  need  be,  to  seek  justice  against  an  inso- 
lent old  man  who  thus  drags  his  authority  in  the 
oiire!  And  above  all  else,  tomorrow  I  shall  be 
ible  to  put  on  my  mantilla  and  go  to  see  the 
Senora  Corregidora.  .  .  ." 

"  You  won't  do  anything  of  the  sort! '  replied 
;he  Corregidor,  losing  his  temper,  or  changing 
us  tactics.  "  You  won't  do  anything  of  the  sort ; 

131 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

because  I  shall  shoot  you  if  I  see  that  you  will  not 
listen  to  reason  — " 

"  Shoot  me?  "  exclaimed  Sena  Frasquita  dully. 

"Yes,  shoot  you  —  and  no  harm  would  come 
to  me  if  I  did.     I  let  it  be  known  casually  in  the 
City  that  I  was  going  out  after  criminals  to- 
night. ...  So  don't  be  silly  —  and  love  me- 
as  I  adore  you ! ' 

"  Shoot  me,  Senor  Corregidor,"  repeated  the 
Navarrese,  throwing  her  arms  back  and  her  body 
forward,  as  if  to  hurl  herself  upon  her  adversary. 

"  I  shall  do  so  if  you  persist ;  and  by  doing  so 
I  shall  be  free  from  your  threats  and  your 
beauty,"  replied  the  Corregidor,  fearfully  draw- 
ing a  pair  of  small  pistols. 

"  Pistols  too?  And  in  the  other  pocket,  my 
nephew's  appointment !"  said  Sena  Frasquita, 
nodding  her  head  vigorously.  "  Well,  Senor,  the 
choice  is  not  a  difficult  one.  Wait  a  moment, 
Your  Worship ;  I'm  going  to  light  the  fire." 

And  as  she  spoke,  she  made  her  way  rapidly 
to  the  stairs,  which  she  descended  in  three  leaps. 

The  Corregidor  seized  the  lamp  and  followed 
after  her,  fearful  lest  she  escape;  but  he  was 
132 


ON  GUARD,  CABALLERO! 


forced  to  descend  more  slowly,  and  consequently, 
when  he  reached  the  kitchen,  he  encountered  the 
Navarrese  on  her  way  back  to  him. 

"  So  you  said  that  you  were  going  to  shoot 
me?'  exclaimed  the  indomitable  woman,  stejn 
ping  back  a  pace.  "  Well  then ;  on  guard,  cabal- 
lero  —  it's  my  turn  now ! '  As  she  spoke,  she 
raised  the  formidable  blunderbuss  which  has 
played  such  a  prominent  part  in  this  story  to  her 
cheek. 

"  Stop,  wretched  woman !  What  are  you  go- 
ing to  do?"  shouted  the  Corregidor,  frightened 
to  death.  "  I  was  joking  about  the  shooting  — 
See  here  —  the  pistols  aren't  loaded.  On  the 
other  hand ;  it  is  the  truth  about  the  appointment, 
Here  it  is.  ...  Take  it.  ...  I  give  to  you.  .  .  . 
It's  yours  .  .  .  for  nothing,  entirely  gratis.  .  ." 

And,  trembling,  he  placed  it  upon  the  table. 

"  That's  a  good  place  for  it ! "  responded  the 
Navarrese.  "  Tomorrow  I'll  use  it  to  light  the 
fire  with  when  I  cook  my  husband's  dinner.  I 
wouldn't  even  take  the  hope  of  heaven  from  you 
now ;  and  if  my  nephew  should  ever  leave  Estella, 
it  would  only  be  to  shoot  the  ugly  hand  for  you 

133 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

that  wrote  his  name  on  that  indecent  paper! 
That's  what  I  said !  Leave  my  house !  Give  me 
air,  give  me  air !  And'  be  quick  about  it !  — : 
For  the  gunpowder  is  going  to  my  head ! ' 

The  Corregidor  did  not  reply  to  this  speech. 
He  had  turned  livid,  almost  blue;  his  eyes  were 
rolling  up,  and  a  trembling  like  that  of  the  ter- 
tian fevers  shook  his  whole  body.  At  last  his 
teeth  began  to  chatter  and  he  fell  to  the  ground, 
seized  with  a  terrifying  convulsion. 

The  fright  of  the  mill-race,  the  fact  that  his 
clothes  were  still  wringing  wet,  the  violent  scene 
in  the  bedroom,  and  the  fear  of  the  blunderbuss 
which  the  Navarrese  was  aiming  at  him,  had  ex- 
hausted the  strength  of  the  sickly  old  man. 

"  I'm    dying,"    he    gasped.     "  Call    Garduna ! 
Call  Garduna-  -he's  outside  —  in  the  ravine  - 
I  must  not  die  in  this  house ! ? 

He  could  not  go  on.  He  closed  his  eyes,  and 
was  as  though  dead. 

"  And  he'll  die  just  as  he  says  he  will ! '  ex- 
claimed Sena  Frasquita.  "Well  now;  if  that 

isif  t  the  worst !     What  will  I  do  now  with  this 

> 

man  in  my  house?  What  will  they  say  of  me  if 
134 


ON  GUARD,  CABALLERO! 


he  dies?  What  will  Lucas  say?-  How  can  I 
justify  myself,  when  I  myself  opened  the  door  to 
him?  Oh,  no!  I  mustn't  stay  here  with  him. 
I  must  look  for  my  husband  —  I  must  scandal- 
ize the  whole  world  rather  than  compromise  my 
honour! ' 

This  resolution  made,  she  dropped  the  blunder- 
buss, went  to  the  corral,  seized  the  remaining 
burra,  saddled  her  any  old  way,  opened  the  large 
gate  of  the  enclosure,  mounted  with  one  leap  in 
spite  of  her  weight,  and  started  for  the  ravine. 

"Garduna!  Garduna!'  she  kept  crying  as 
she  neared  the  spot. 

"  Present ! '  replied  the  alguacil  at  last,  as  he 
appeared  from  behind  a  hedge.  "  Is  that  you, 
Sena  Frasquita?  " 

"  Yes,  it's  me.  Go  to  the  mill  and  rescue  your 
master;  he's  dying! ' 

"  What  did  you  say?    That's  a  pretty  trick! ' 

u  What  you  heard,  Garduna  - 

"  And  you,  my  dear?  Where  are  you  going  at 
this  time  of  night?  " 

"  I  ?  —  Get  out  of  the  way,  you  blockhead ! 
,  [•  m  going  —  to  the  City  after  a  doctor !  "  an-  ^  *a 

135 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

swered  Sena  Frasquita,  kicking  the  burra  with 
her  heels  and  Garduna  with  her  toes. 

And  she  took  —  not  the  road  to  the  City,  as  she 
just  said,  but  to  the  next  village. 

Garduna  did  not  notice  this  last  circumstance ; 
but  strode  off  toward  the  mill,  mumbling  to  him- 
self as  he  went  in  this  fashion: 

"  Going  for  the  doctor !  The  poor  thing  can't 
do  better !  But  what  a  poor  sort  of  a  man  he  is ! 
A  nice  time  to  get  sick !  God  gives  sugarplums 
to  those  who  can't  chew  them !  " 


136 


XXII 

GARDUNA  OUTDOES   HIMSELF 

WHEN  Garduna  reached  the  mill,  the 
Corregidor  was  beginning  to  come 
to,  and  was  endeavouring  to  get  up 
from  the  floor. 

Also  upon  the  floor,  and  at  his  side,  was  the 
lighted  lamp  that  His  Worship  had  brought  down 
from  the  bedroom. 

"  Has  she  gone  yet?  "  were  Don  Eugenio's  first 
words. 
"Who?" 

"  The  devil !  —  I  mean,  the  miller's  wife  — " 
"Si  Sefior  —  she's  gone  —  but  I  don't  think 
ihe  was  in  very  good  humour." 
"  Ay,  GarduSa !    I'm  dying  — " 
"  But   what's   the   matter   with   you?    Good 
leavens ! ' 

"  I  fell  into  the  mill-race  and  got  drenched  to 

137 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

the  skin.     My  bones  are  dropping  apart  with 
cold ! " 

"  Never  mind !    We'll  get  rid  of  that !  " 
"  Garduiia !     See  what  you  are  saying ! ' 
"  I'm  not  saying  anything,  Seiior." 
"  Well  then ;  get  ine  out  of  this  trouble." 
"  Right  off.  .  .  .  Your  Honour  shall  see  how 
quickly  I  set  everything  to  rights." 

As  the  alguacil  said  this,  he  seized  the  lamp 
in  a  jiffy  with  one  hand,  and  picked  up  the  Cor- 
regidor  and  put  him  under  his  arm  with  the 
other;  climbed  to  the  bedroom;  stripped  him  to 
the  skin;  put  him  in  bed;  ran  to  the  cellar;  gath- 
ered an  armful  of  wood;  went  to  the  kitchen; 
made  a  huge  fire ;  brought  down  all  his  master's 
clothes;  hung  them  over  the  backs  of  two  or 
three  chairs;  lit  a  lamp;  hung  it  from  the  shelf; 
and  went  back  to  the  bedchamber. 

"  How  are  you  getting  on? '  he  then  asked 
of  Don  Eugenic,  raising  the  lamp  the  better  to 
see  his  face. 

"  Admirably !  I  believe  I'm  going  to  perspire ! 
I  shall  hang  you  tomorrow,  Garduiia ! ' 

"  Why,  Senor?  " 
138 


GARDUNA  OUTDOES  HIMSELF 

"And  you  dare  ask  me?  Do  you  think  that 
after  following  the  plan  you  made  for  me  I 
was  expecting  to  get  into  this  bed  alone  after  re- 
ceiving for  the  second  time  the  sacrament  of 
baptism?  I  shall  hang  you  tomorrow!' 

"  But  tell  me  something,  Your  Worship  — 
Sena  Frasquita?"— 

"  Seiia  Frasquita  tried  to  assassinate  me. 
That  is  all  I  accomplished  with  your  advice.  I 
tell  you  I  shall  hang  you  tomorrow  morning." 

"  It  isn't  as  bad  as  that,  Senor  Corregidor ! ' 
replied  the  alguacil. 

"  Why  do  you  say  that,  insolent  one?  Because 
you  see  me  prostrated  here  before  you? ' 

"  No,  Seuor.  I  say  it  because  Sena  Frasquita 
couldn't  have  been  as  inhuman  as  Your  Wor- 
ship thinks,  since  she  has  gone  to  the  City  to  get 
i  doctor — " 

"Great  God!  Are  you  sure  she  went  to  the 
Uity  ? '  cried  Don  Eugenio  more  terrified  than 
;ver. 

"  At  least,  that  is  what  she  told  me  — " 

"  Run,  run,  Garduna !    Ah !     I  am  lost  beyond  i 
•ecall!     Do  you  know  why  Seiia  Frasquita  is 

139 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

going  to  the  City?    To  tell  my  wife  everything! 

—  To  tell  her  that  I  am  here !     Oh,  my  God,  my 
God!     How  could  I  ever  have  imagined  this?    I 
thought  she  had  gone  to  the  village  after  her  hus- 
band ;  and,  as  I  had  him  under  lock  and  key,  her 
trip  didn't  trouble  me  any!     But,  to  go  to  the 
City !  —  Garduna,  run,  run  —  you  are  so  nimble 

—  and  prevent  my  ruin!     Prevent  the  terrible 
miller's  wife  from  entering  my  house ! ' 

"  And  Your  Worship  won't  hang  me  if  I  suc- 
ceed? "  asked  the  alguacil  ironically. 

"  On  the  contrary !  I'll  give  you  a  pair  of 
shoes  in  good  repair  which  are  too  large  for  me. 
I'll  give  you  anything  you  wish !  " 

"  I'm  off  then.  Your  Worship  may  sleep  in 
peace.  I'll  be  back  within  h'alf  an  hour,  after 
leaving  the  Navarrese  in  jail.  It's  a  good  thing 
I  can  run  faster  than  a  burra !  " 

When  Garduna  had  said  this,  he  disappeared 
down  the  stairs. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  it  was  during  the 
alguacil's  absence  that  the  miller  was  in  the  mill 
L  and  saw  things  through  the  keyhole. 

Let  us,  then,  leave  the  Corregidor  perspiring 
140 


GARDUNA  OUTDOES  HIMSELF 

in  a  strange  bed,  and  Garduna  running  toward 
the  City  (where  Tio  Lucas  was  so  soon  to  follow 
him  in  the  three-cornered  hat  and  the  scarlet 
cloak),  and  let  us,  nimble  as  well,  fly  in  the 
direction  of  the  Village  in  pursuit  of  the  valorous 
Sena  Frasquita. 


141 


XXIII 

ONCE   MORE   THE    WILDERNESS   AND   THE 
AFORESAID   VOICES 

IE  only  adventure  that  befell  the  Navar- 
rese  on  her  journey  from  the  mill  to  the 
Village  was  being  a  bit  startled  by  notic- 
ing some  one  striking  a  light  in  the  middle  of  a 
field. 

"  Could  that  be  one  of  the  Corregidor's  hire- 
lings? Is  he  going  to  detain  me?  "  thought  the 
miller's  wife. 

At  this  point  she  heard  a  bray  from  the  same 
direction. 

"  Burras  in  the  fields  at  this  hour  of  the 
night!  v  said  Sena  Frasquita  to  herself.  "  Why, 
there  isn't  any  orchard  or  farm  house  near  here. 

*/ 

Good  gracious,  the  goblins  are  flying  about  as 
they  please  tonight!  For  it  can't  be  my  hus- 
142 


THE  WILDERNESS 


band's  burra.  What  would  my  Lucas  be  doing 
stopping  in  a  field  in  the  middle  of  the  night? 

"  No  indeed !     It  must  be  a  spy !  " 

The  burra  which  Send  Frasquita  rode  thought 
the  moment  opportune  to  bray  herself. 

"Hush,  you  demon!"  said  the  Navarrese, 
sticking  a  farthing  pin  into  its  withers. 

And,  fearing  an  inconvenient  encounter,  she 
too  turned  her  beast  from  the  road  and  trotted 
her  across  country. 

Without  further  mishap  she  reached  the  gates 
of  the  Village  at  about  eleven  o'clock. 


143 


fi 


XXIV 

I   .  •  • 

A  KING  IN   THOSE  DAYS 

T" 

r  1  ^  HE  Senor  Alcalde  was  already  sleeping 
off  his  wine,  back  to  back  with  his  wife 
(forming  thus  with  her  the  figure  of  a 
double-headed  Austrian  eagle,  as  our  immortal 
Quevedo  puts  it),  when  Tonuelo  knocked  on  the 
door  of  his  matrimonial  bedchamber  and  an- 
nounced to  Seuor  Juan  Lopez  that  Sena  Fras- 
quita,  she  of  the  mill,  wished  to  see  him. 

We  need  not  speak  of  all  the  groans  and  curses 
that  accompanied  the  awakening  and  dressing  of 
the  country  alcalde.  Let  it  therefore  suffice  for 
us  to  remark  that  the  miller's  wife  saw  him  com- 
ing, stretching  himself  like  a  gymnast  exercising 
his  muscles,  and  exclaiming  in  the  midst  of  an 
interminable  yawn: 

"  A  very  good  evening  to  you,  Sena  Frasquita ! 
What  brings  you  here?  Didn't  Tonuelo  tell  you 
144 


A  KING  IN  THOSE  DAYS 


to  stay  at  the  mill?  Is  this  the  way  you  dis- 
obey Authority? ' 

"  I  must  see  my  Lucas ! '  rejoined  the  Navar- 
rese.  "  I  must  see  him  at  once !  Tell  him  that 
his  wife  is  here ! ' 

"  Must !  Must !  Senora,  you  forget  that  you 
are  speaking  to  the  King ! ' 

"  Never  mind  your  kings,  Senor  Juan ;  I'm  in 
no  mood  for  joking!  You  know  too  well  what 
the  matter  is  with  me !  You  know  too  well  why 
you  arrested  my  husband ! ' 

"  I  don't  know  anything,  Ser&  Frasquita.  .  .  . 
And  as  for  your  husband;  he  has  not  been  ar- 
rested, but  is  sleeping  peacefully  in  this  his 
house,  and  treated  as  I  know  how  to  treat 
people.  Here,  Tonuelo!  Go  to  the  straw  loft 
and  tell  Tio  Lucas  to  get  up  and  come  here  in  a 
hurry.  .  .  .  Come  now  —  tell  me  what  the  mat- 
ter is!  Were  you  afraid  of  sleeping  alone?' 

"  Don't  be  indecent,  Senor  Juan !  You  know 
very  well  that  I  like  neither  your  jokes  nor  your 
truths!  Something  very  simple  is  the  matter 
with  me :  and  that  is  that  you  and  the  Corregidor 
have  tried  to  ruin  me.  But  you  have  made  a 

145 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

fizzle  of  it !  I  am  here  with  nothing  to  blush  for, 
and  the  Senor  Corregidor  is  at  the  mill,  dying ! ' 

"The  Corregidor  dying!"  exclaimed  his  Infe- 
riorship.  "  Senora,  do  you  know  what  you  are 
saying? ' 

"  Of  couse  I  do !  He  fell  into  the  mill-race 
and  almost  drowned  —  or  else  he's  caught  cold  — 
or  I  don't  know  what —  That  is  the  Corregi- 
dor's  affair!  I  came  here  to  get  my  husband, 
without  giving  up  my  right  to  go  to  Madrid  to- 
morrow, where  I'll  tell  the  King — " 

"  The  very  devil !  "  mumbled  Senor  Juan  L6pez. 
"  Here,  Manuela !  —  Girl !  —  Go  saddle  my  mule 
—  Sena  Frasquita,  I'm  going  to  the  mill  — 
Heaven  help  you  if  you  have  hurt  the  Senor 
Corregidor ! ? 

"  Senor  Alcalde !  Senor  Alcalde ! '  cried 
Tofiuelo  at  this  point,  coming  in  more  dead  than 
alive.  "  Tio  Lucas  isn't  in  the  straw  loft.  And 
his  burra  isn't  in  the  shed,  and  the  corral  gate 
is  open  —  The  bird  has  flown !  " 

"  What  are  you  saying?  "  shouted  Senor  Juan 
L6pez. 

"Holy  Virgin!  What  will  happen  at  my 
146 


A  KING  IN  THOSE  DAYS 


house?"  cried  SeM  Frasquita.  "Let's  run, 
Senor  Alcalde;  don't  let's  lose  a  second!  My 
husband  will  kill  the  Corregidor  when  he  finds 
him  there  alone  at  this  time  of  night." 

"  Then  do  you  believe  that  Tio  Lucas  is  at  the 
mill?  " 

"  Of  cous£j_do !     Besides  —  when  I  was  on  my 
way  here  I  passed  him  without  realizing  it.     He 
must  have  been  the  one  who  was  striking  a  light 
in  the  middle  of  a  field !     My  heavens !     Would 
one  ever  think  that  animals  had  more  sense  than 
humans !     For  you  must  know,  Senor  Juan,  that  \f 
our  two  burras  recognized  and  greeted  each  other, v 
while  my  Lucas  and  I  did  neither.     Instead,  we 
ran  away  from  each  other  —  each  taking  the  other 

for  a  spy ! ' 

"  Your  Lucas  is  all  right !  "  replied  the  alcalde. 
"  Well,  let's  get  started ;  we  shall  see  later  what 
we  shall  do  to  you  two.  You  can't  play  with 
me !  I  am  the  King !  —  But  not  a  king  like  the 
one  we  have  in  Madrid  now,  or  rather,  in  the 
Pardo  l ;  but  like  the  one  we  had  in  Seville  whom 
they  called  Pedro  the  Cruel.  Here,  Manuela! 

i  Pardo :  The  Royal  Country  Residence- 

147 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

Bring  me  my  staff,  and  tell  your  mistress  I  am 
going !  " 

The  servant  girl  (who  was  certainly  a  more 
attractive  girl  than  was  pleasing  to  the  alcalde's 
wife,  or  than  was  morally  proper)  obeyed;  and, 
as  Senor  Juan  Lopez's  mule  was  saddled,  Sena 
Frasquita  and  he  set  out  for  the  mill,  followed 
by  the  indispensable  Tonuelo. 


148 


XXV 

GARDUNA'S   STAR 

LET  us  precede  them,  assuming  that  we 
have  carte  blanche  to  travel  faster  than 
any  one  else. 

Garduna,  having  looked  for  Sena  Frasquita  \/ 
throughout  every  street  in  the  City,  was  already  /\ 
back  at  the  mill. 

The  astute  alguacil  had  stopped  at  the  Official 
Residence  on  his  way,  and  had  found  everything 
quiet  there.  The  doors,  according  to  the  custom 
when  the  Authority  was  out  performing  his 
sacred  duties,  were  still  open  as  in  the  middle  of 
the  day.  Other  alguacils  and  servants  were  doz- 
ing on  the  landing  of  the  stairs,  awaiting  at 
their  ease  their  master's  ret«rn ;  but  when  they 
heard  Garduna  coming,  two  or  three  of  them 
stretched  themselves  and  asked  him  who  was 

their  senior  and  immediate  chief : 

149 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  Is  the  Seiior  coming?  ' 

"  Don't  dream  of  such  a  thing !  —  Rest  easy. 
I  came  to  find  out  if  there  is  anything  new  at  the 
house." 

"  Nothing." 
}/' «  Where  is  the  Senora?  " 

"Withdrawn  to  her  apartments." 

"  Has  any  woman  entered  these  doors  re- 
cently?" 

"  Not  a  soul  has  been  seen  here  all  evening." 

"Well,  don't  let  any  one  in  whoever  it  is  or 
whatever  they  say.  On  the  contrary !  Lay  your 
hands  on  the  first  bright  morning  star  who  comes 
to  ask  after  the  Senor  or  Senora,  and  take  him 
to  jail." 

"  It  looks  as  if  you  were  hunting  some  pretty 
important  birds  tonight ! "  remarked  one  of  the 
menials. 

"  Big  game !  "  added  another. 

"  With  a  big  G !  "  responded  Garduna  sol- 
emnly. "  You  may  be  sure  that  the  matter  is  a 
delicate  one  when  the  Seiior  Corregidor  and  I  are 
making  the  chase  ourselves !  Well  —  until  later, 
my  good  scallawags ;  and  keep  your  eyes  peeled ! ' 
150 


GARDUNA'S  STAR 


"  Go  you  with  God,  Senor  Bastidn,"  they  re- 
plied, bowing  to  Garduiia.  > 

"My  star  is  eclipsed!"  he  murmured  as  he 
left  the  Official  Residence.  "  Even  the  women 
deceive  me !  The  miller's  wife  went  to  the  Vil- 
lage after  her  husband  instead  of  coming  to  the 
City.  .  .  .  Poor  Garduiia!  What  has  happened 
to  the  keenness  of  your  scent?  : 

And,  discoursing  in  this  fashion,  he  returned 

to  the  mill. 

The  alguacil  had  reason  to  regret  the  dul- 
ness  of  his  scent,  because  he  failed  to  get 
wind  of  a  man  who  at  that  moment  concealed 
himself  behind  some  scrub-willows  a  short 
distance  from  the  ravine,  and  who  exclaimed 
within  his  coat,  or  rather,  within  his  scarlet 

cloak : 

"Hold  on,  there!    Here  comes  Garduiia!  — 

He  mustn't  see  me  — " 

It  was  Tio  Lucas,  dressed  as  the  Corregidor, 

on  his  way  to  the  City  —  repeating  now  and 

again  his  diabolical  phrase: 

"  The  Corregidor's  wife  is  pretty  too !  " 
Garduna  went  by  without  seeing  him,  and  the 

151 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

false  Corregidor  left  his  place  of  concealment 
and  entered  the  City.  .  .  . 

A  little  while  later,  as  we  have  already  indi- 
cated, the  alguacil  reached  the  mill. 


152 


XXVI 

REACTION 

THE  Corregidor  was  still  in  bed  exactly  as 
Tio  Lucas  had  seen  him  through  the  key- 
hole. 

"How  freely  I  perspire,  Garduna!  I  have 
saved  myself  from  an  illness ! ' '  he  cried  as  soon 
as  the  alguacil  had  entered  the  room.  "What 
about  Sena  Frasquita?  Did  you  meet  her?  Is 
she  with  you?  Did  you  speak  with  my  wife?  " 

"  The  miller's  wife,  Senor,"  replied  Garduna 
in  heart-broken  accents,  "  deceived  me  like  a  good 
one  —  because  she  didn't  go  to  the  City,  but  to 
the  Village  —  after  her  husband.  Forgive  my 
stupidity,  Your  Worship." 

"  Good !  Good !  "  declared  the  Madrilene,  his 
eyes  sparkling  with  evil.  "  Everything  is  saved 
then!  Before  dawn,  Tio  Lucas  and  SeSa  Fras- 
quita will  be  on  their  way  to  the  prison  of  the 

153 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

Inquisition,  tied  elbow  to  elbow,  and  there  they 
shall  rot  without  having  any  one  to  whom  they 
can  relate  tonight's  adventures.  Bring  me  my 
clothes,  GarduSa ;  they  must  be  dry  by  this  time 
—  Bring  them  to  me  and  dress  me !  The  lover 
is  about  to  turn  into  the  Corregidor." 
Garduna  went  down  to  the  kitchen  for  the 


clothes. 


154 


XXVII 

IN   THE   KING'S  NAME 

MEANWHILE,   Send  Frasquita,   SeSor 
Juan   Lopez,   and  Tonuelo  were  ad- 
vancing toward  the  mill,  which  they 
reached  a  few  minutes  later. 

"  I  shall  go  in  first ! "  exclaimed  the  country 
alcalde.  "I'm  not  an  Authority  for  nothing! 
You  follow  me,  Tofiuelo;  and  you,  Send  Fras- 
quita, wait  at  the  door  until  I  call  you." 

Then  Senor  Juan  L6pez  entered  the  grape 
arbour,  where  he  saw  by  the  light  of  the  moon  a 
rather  hunchbacked  individual  dressed  as  the 
miller  was  accustomed  to  dress,  in  waistcoat  and 
breeches  of  grey  cloth,  a  black  sash,  blue  stock- 
ings, a  plush  Murcian  cap,  and  a  short  overcoat 
thrown  over  his  shoulder. 

"Tis  he!"  shouted  the  alcalde.  "In  the 
King's  name !  —  Surrender,  Tio  Lucas !  " 

155 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

The  man  in  the  cap  attempted  to  enter  the 
house. 

"  Surrender ! "  shouted  Tonuelo  in  his  turn ; 
>(and  he  pounced  upon  him,  seized  him  by  the  neck, 
applied  his  knee  to  the  small  of  his  back,  and 
forced  him  to  the  ground. 

At  the  same  moment  another  kind  of  a  beast 
leaped  upon  Tonuelo,  and  grasping  him  by  the 
belt,  threw  him  to  the  pavement  and  began  to 
pommel  him. 

It  was  Send  Frasquita,  who  cried: 

"  Leave  my  Lucas  alone,  you  fool ! ' 

But  at  this  moment,  another  person  came  into 
sight  leading  a  burra  by  the  halter,  thrust  him- 
self resolutely  between  the  two  and  tried  to 
rescue  Tonuelo. 

It  was  Garduna;  and,  mistaking  the  Village 
alguacil  for  Don  Eugenio  de  Zufiiga,  he  said  to 
the  miller's  wife : 

"  Senora,  have  a  little  respect  for  my  mas- 
ter !  " 

Then  he  threw  her  across  the  villager's  back. 

Thereupon  Send  Frasquita,  seeing  that  she  was 
between  two  fires,  gave  Garduna  such  a  powerful 
156 


IN  THE  KING'S  NAME 


backward  kick  in  the  stomach  that  he  fell  to  the 
ground  with  a  mouth  as  big  as  himself. 

So  now,  there  were  four  persons  sprawling 
upon  the  ground. 

Meanwhile,  Sefior  Juan  Lopez  was  preventing, 
Tio  Lucas  supposed-to-be  from  arising  by  step- 
ping  on  the  small  of  his  back. 

"  Garduna !  Help !  In  the  King's  name !  I 
am  the  Corregidor ! '  shouted  Don  Eugenio  at 
last,  when  he  felt  that  the  alcalde's  hoof,  which 
was  clad  in  a  rough  bull-hide  shoe,  was  about  to 
crush  him. 

"  The  Corregidor !  Why,  so  it  is !  "  said  the 
astonished  Senor  Juan  L6pez. 

"  The  Corregidor !  "  echoed  the  others. 

And  the  four  sprawling  figures  were  soon  on 
their  feet. 

"  To  the  jail  with  everybody !  "  exclaimed  Don 
Eugenio  de  Zuniga.  "  To  the  gallows  with 
them ! " 

"  But  Senor  — "  observed  Senor  Juan  L6pez, 
falling  upon  his  knees.  "  Forgive  me  for  having 
mistaken  you!  How  was  I  going  to  recognize 
you  in  those  ordinary  clothes? ' 

157 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  Wildman !  "  replied  the  Corregidor.  "  I  had 
to  put  something  on !  Don't  you  know  that  they 
have  stolen  mine?  Don't  you  know  that  a  band 
of  robbers  led  by  Tio  Lucas  — " 

"  You  lie!  "  shouted  the  Navarrese. 

"  Listen  to  me,  Sen 4  Frasquita,"  said  Garduna, 

\ 

calling  her  to  one  side.  "With  the  permission 
of  the  Senor  Corregidor  and  the  company  —  If 
you  don't  fix  this  thing  up,  they'll  hang  us  all, 
beginning  with  Tio  Lucas ! ' 

"  Well,  what's  the  matter? '  inquired  Sena 
Frasquita. 

"  Why,  Tio  Lucas  is  now  wandering  about  the 
City  dressed  as  the  Corregidor  —  and  God  knows 
whether,  in  that  disguise,  he  hasn't  even  reached 
the  bedroom  of  the  Corregidora  herself." 

The  alguacil  told  her  in  a  few  words  every- 
thing that  we  already  know. 

"  Good  heavens !  "  exclaimed  the  miller's  wife. 
"  So  my  husband  thinks  I'm  dishonoured !  And 
he  has  gone  to  the  City  to  avenge  himself !  Come 
—  come  to  the  City  and  clear  me  in  the  eyes  of 
my  Lucas ! ' 

"  Come  to  the  City  and  stop  that  man-  from 
158 


IN  THE  KING'S  NAME 


talking  to  my  wife  and  telling  her  all  the  non- 
sense he  has  imagined ! "  said  the  Corregidor, 
leaning  upon  one  of  the  burras.  "  Give  me  a 
hand  to  mount  with,  Senor  Alcalde." 

"  Yes  indeed,  let's  go,"  added  Garduna ;  "  and 
I  hope  to  heaven,  Senor  Corregidor,  that  Tio 
Lucas  has  contented  himself  with'  talking  to  the     ' 
Senora ! " 

"What  are  you  saying,  you  wretch?"  gaspedf 
Don  Eugenio  de  Zuuiga.  "Do  you  think  that 
villain  is  capable  — ?  " 

"  Of  anything !  "  replied  Send  Frasquita. 


159 


XXVIII 

AVE   MARIA    PURISIMAl      HALF   PAST  TWELVE, 
AND   ALL'S   WELL1 

THUS  he  whose  right  it  was  to  do  so  was 
crying  through  the  streets  of  the  City, 
when  the  miller's  wife  and  the  Corregi- 
dor,  each  mounted  upon  one  of  the  mill  burras, 
Senor  Juan  Lopez  on  his  mule,  and  the  two  al- 
guacils  on  foot,  all   reached  the   door  of  the 
Official  Residence. 
The  door  was  closed. 

One  might  say  that  everything  was  closed  for 
the  day  both  to  the  Governor  and  to  the  gov- 
erned. 

"  Bad !  "  thought  Garduna. 

And  he  gave  several  blows  upon  the  knocker. 

i  It  is  still  the  custom  in  some  parts  of  Spain  fof  the 
sereno,  or  night  watchman  to  call  the  hours.  As  he  does 
so  he  generally  prefixes  the  phrase  Ave  Maria  Purisima. 

160 


AVE  MARIA  PURISIMA! 


A  long  time  elapsed,  and  no  one  either  opened 
the  door  or  answered. 

Sefia  Frasquita  was  paler  than  wax. 

The  Corregidor  had  already  consumed  all  the 
nails  of  his  ten  fingers. 

Nobody  said  a  word. 

Bang!  .  .  .  Bang!  .  .  .  Bang!  —  blows  and 
more  blows  upon  the  door  of  the  Official  Resi- 
dence, applied  successively  by  the  two  alguacils 
and  Senor  Juan  L6pez.  .  .  .  But  nothing  hap- 
pened! No  one  answered!  No  one  opened  it! 
Not  even  a  fly  moved! 

All  they  could  hear  was  the  sound  of  the  pipes 
of  a  fountain  in  the  patio  of  the  house. 

And  so  the  minutes  passed  —  each  an  eter- 
nity. 

At  last,  when  it  was  nearly  one  o'clock,  a  little 
window  on  the  second  floor  was  opened  and  a 
woman's  voice  said : 

"  Who  is  it?  " 

"  It's  the  nurse's  voice,"  whispered  Gardufia. 

"  I,"  replied  Don  Eugenio  de  Zufiiga. 
«  Open ! » 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence. 

161 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"And  who  are  you?"  the  nurse  then  ques- 
tioned. 

"Can't  you  hear  me?  I  am  the  master!  — 
The  Corregidor !  " — 

There  was  another  pause. 

"  Go  you  with  God !  "  replied  the  good  woman. 
"  My  master  came  in  an  hour  ago  and  went  right 
to  bed.  You  people  had  better  go  to  bed  too, 
and  sleep  off  the  wine  you  must  have  in  you ! ' 

The  window  closed  with  a  bang. 

Sena  Frasquita  hid  her  face  in  her  hands. 

"  Nurse ! '  thundered  the  Corregidor,  beside 
himself.  "  Can't  you  hear  me  tell  you  to  open 
the  door?  Can't  you  hear  who  I  am?  Do  you 
want  me  to  hang  you  too? ' 

The  window  was  reopened. 

"  But  let's  see,"  said  the  woman.  "  Who  are 
you  to  shout  so?  " 

"  I  am  the  Corregidor !  " 

"Tut,  tut!     Didn't  I  just  tell  you  that  the 

Corregidor  came  in  before  twelve  o'clock,  and 

\  /  that  I  saw  him  with  my  own  eyes  shut  himself 

A  up  in  the  Senora's  apartments?    Are  you  try- 

162 


AVE  MARIA  TURISIMA! 


ing  to  make  fun  of  me?  Just  YOU  wait  -you'll 
see  what  will  happen  to  you ! ' 

Just  then  the  door  opened  suddenly,  and  a 
cloud  of  servants  and  bailiffs,  each  provided  with 
a  cudgel,  fell  upon  those  outside,  exclaiming 
furiously : 

"  Let's  see !  Where  is  the  fellow  who  says  he 
is  the  Corregidor?  Where  is  the  fool?  Where  is 
the  drunkard? ' 

And  a  very  devil  of  a  row  began  in  the  dark,  in 
which  no  one  could  make  himself  understood,  and 
in  which  blow  after  blow  was  rained  upon  the 
Corregidor,  Gardufia,  Senor  Juan  Lopez,  and 
Tonuelo. 

It  was  the  second  beating  that  his  evening's 
adventure  had  cost  Don  Eugenio  —  besides  the 
ducking  he  had  gotten  in  the  mill  race. 

Seiia  Frasquita,  at  one  side  of  the  affray,  was 
crying  for  the  first  time  in  her  life.  .  .  . 

"Lucas!     Lucas!"    she    sobbed.     "To    think  — 

«• 

that  you  could  doubt  me!  That  you  could  hold 
another  woman  in  your  arms!  Ah!  Our  mis- 
fortune is  beyond  remedy ! ' 

163 


XXIX 

POST   NUBILA   .    .    .   DIANA 

HAT  scandal  is  this?"  said  a 
voice  at  last  —  tranquil,  majes- 
tic, and  of  a  delightful  timbre, 
which  resounded  above  the  tumult. 

They  all  lifted  their  heads  and  saw  a  woman 
dressed  in  black  leaning  over  the  main  balcony 
of  the  edifice. 

"  The  Senora!  "  cried  the  servants,  suspending 
the  tattoo  of  sticks. 

"My  wife!"  gasped  Don  Eugenic. 

"Let  those  country  bumpkins  in  ...  The 
Senor  Corregidor  gives  his  permission/'  con- 
tinued the  Corregidor's  wife. 

The  servants  gave  way,  and  de  Zfmiga  and  his 
companions  passed  through  the  door  and  made 
their  way  up  the  stairs. 


No  criminal  ever  ascended  the  gallows  with 


1G4 


POST  NUBILA  .  .  .  DIANA 


such  a  faltering  step  or  such  an  altered  mien 
as  that  with  which  the  Corregidor  climbed  the 

* 

stairs  in  his  own  house.  Nevertheless,  with 
noble  selfishness  he  was  already  thinking  rather 
of  his  own  dishonour  than  of  the  misfortunes  he 
had  brought  upon  others, —  not  to  speak  of 
further  ridiculous  aspects  of  the  situation  in 
which  he  found  himself.  .  .  . 

"  Above  all  else,"  he  was  thinking,  "  I  am  a  de 
Ziiniga  and  a  Ponce  de  Le6n!  .  .  .  Woe  unto 
them  who  have  forgotten  the  fact!  Woe  unto 
my  wife  if  she  has  stained  my  name!" 


165 


XXX 

A   LADY   OF   DISTINCTION 

THE  Corregidora  received  her  husband  and 
the  rustic  committee  in  the  main  salon  of 
the  Official  Residence. 

She  was  standing  alone,  with  her  eyes  riveted 
upon  the  door. 

She  was  a  very  high-born  woman,  still  rather 
young,  and  of  a  placid  and  severe  beauty  that 
was  more  suitable  to  the  Christian  brush  than  to 
the  Pagan  chisel.  She  was  dressed  with  as  much 
dignity  and  seriousness  as  the  taste  of  that  period 
allowed.  Her  dress,  with  its  narrow  skirt  and 
full,  short  sleeves  was  of  black  bombazine:  a  yel- 
lowish white  lace  kerchief  veiled  her  admirable 
shoulders,  and  extremely  long  mitts  of  black  tulle 
covered  the  greater  part  of  her  alabastrine  arms. 
She  fanned  herself  with  an  enormous  fan  brought 
from  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  she  held  in  her 
166 


A  LADY  OF  DISTINCTION 


hand  a  lace  handkerchief  whose  four  corners 
hung  with  a  symmetrical  regularity  comparable 
only  to  her  attitude  and  lesser  gestures. 

This  beautiful  woman  was  something  of  a 
queen,  and  a  good  deal  of  an  abbess;  and  there- 
fore instilled  veneration  and  fear  into  whom- 
soever looked  upon  her.  For  the  rest,  the  ele- 
gance of  her  dress  at  such  a  time,  the  gravity 
of  her  bearing,  and  the  many  lights  that  illu- 
minated the  salon,  showed  that  the  Corregidor's 
wife  had  taken  pains  to  give  to  the  scene  a 
theatrical  solemnity  and  a  ceremonious  tinge  that 
should  be  a  contrast  to  the  villainous  and  coarse 
adventure  of  her  husband. 

Finally  we  must  inform  you  that  the  lady's 
name  was  Dona  Mercedes  Carillo  de  Albornoz 
y  Espinosa  de  los  Monteros,  and  that  she  was  a 
daughter,  a  granddaughter,  a  great-granddaugh- 
ter, a  great-great-granddaughter,  and  even  a 
twentieth  granddaughter  of  the  City  —  being  a 
descendant  of  its  illustrious  conquerors.  Her 
family,  for  reasons  of  mundane  vanity,  had  in- 
duced her  to  marry  the  old  and  wealthy  Corre- 
gidor;  and  she,  who  otherwise  would  have  been 

167 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

a  nun,  since  her  natural  inclination  was  toward 
the  cloister,  consented  to  make  the  grievous  sac- 
rifice. 

At  that  time  she  already  had  two  offshoots 
from  the  dashing  Madrilene,  and  it  was  whis- 
pered that  once  more  there  were  "  Moors  in  the 
offing  "— 

But  let  us  return  to  our  story. 


168 


XXXI 

THE   LAW   OF   REPRISALS 

\ 

ERCEDES !  "  exclaimed  the  Correg- 
idor  as  he  appeared  before  his 
wife.  "  I  must  know  at  once  — " 

"Hello,  Tio  Lucas!     You  here?"  interrupted 

}  '* 
the  Corregidora.     "  Is  there  anything  wrong  at 

the  mill?" 

"  Sefiora,  I  am  in  no  mood  for  jests!  "  rejoined 
the  furious  Corregidor.  "  Before  entering  upon 
any  explanation  in  my  behalf,  I  must  know  what 
has  become  of  my  honour  — " 

"  That  does  not  concern  me !  Have  you  per- 
haps left  it  on  deposit  with  me? ' 

"  Si  Sefiora  —  with  you !  "  replied  Don  Eu- 
genio.  "Women  are  the  depositories  of  their 
husbands'  honour ! ' 

"  Well  then,  my  dear  Tio  Lucas,  ask  your  wife 
about  it  —  She  is  at  this  moment  listening  to 


us." 


169 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

Send  Frasquita,  who  had  remained  in  the  door- 
way, gave  vent  to  a  sort  of  bellow. 

"  Come  in,  Senora,  and  sit  down,"  continued 
the  Corregidora,  turning  to  the  miller's  wife 
with  superb  dignity. 

She  herself  crossed  to  the  sofa. 

The  generous  Navarrese  was  able  to  under- 
stand from  that  moment  all  the  greatness  of  the 
wronged  woman's  attitude  (and  the  Corregidora 
was  perhaps  doubly  wronged.)  So  that  is  why, 
rising  to  an  equal  height,  she  forthwith  domi- 
nated her  own  natural  impulses  and  kept  a  de- 
corous silence.  This  is  aside  from  the  fact  that 
Send  Frasquita,  sure  of  her  own  innocence  and 
power,  was  in  no  hurry  to  defend  herself.  She 
had,  of  course,  much  to  complain  of;  but  not 
exactly  to  the  Corregidora.  The  one  with  whom 
she  desired  to  adjust  accounts  was  Tfo  Lucas  — 
and  Tio  Lucas  was  not  there ! 

"  Send  Frasquita,"  repeated  the  noble  lady, 
when  she  saw  that  the  miller's  wife  had  not 
moved  from  her  place ;  "  I  told  you  that  you 
might  enter  and  seat  yourself." 
170 


THE  LAW  OP  REPRISALS 


This  second  invitation  was  given  in  a  more 
affectionate  and  sympathetic  tone  of  voice  than 
the  first.  .  .  .  One  might  say  that  the  Corregi- 
dora,  when  she  saw  the  calm  bearing  and  statu- 
esque beauty  of  the  other  woman,  had  also  in- 
stinctively divined  that  she  was  not  about  to 
settle  accounts  with  a  vulgar  and  despicable  per- 
son, but  rather  with  another  unfortunate  like 
herself.  Unfortunate  indeed  —  if  only  for  hav- 
ing known  the  Corregidor ! 

Thereupon  those  two  women  who  considered 
themselves  rivals  exchanged  glances  of  peace  and    | 
indulgence,  and  in  great  surprise,  became  aware 
that  they  warmed  to  each  other  like  long  lost 
sisters. 

In  just  this  way  do  the  chaste  snows  of  the 
lofty  mountain  tops  perceive  and  greet  each 

other. 

Enjoying  these  emotions,  the  miller's  wife 
majestically  entered  the  salon  and  sat  upon  the 
edge  of  a  chair. 

When  she  stopped  at  the  mill,  foreseeing  that 
she  would  have  to  make  some  important  calls  in 

171 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

the  City,  she  had  tidied  herself  up  a  bit  and 
had  put  on  a  black  flannel  shawl  with  a 
fringe  of  great  plush  balls  that  became  her 
divinely. 

She  looked  every  inch  a  lady. 

As  for  the  Corregidor,  needless  to  say  he  was 
silent  during  this  episode.  Sena  Frasquita's  bel- 
low and  her  appearance  upon  the  scene  did  noth- 
ing less  than  astound  him.  That  woman  was 
already  causing  him  more  terror  than  his  own 
wife! 

"  Come  now,  Tio  Lucas,"  continued  Dona  Mer- 
cedes, turning  to  her  husband.  "  Here  is  your 
SeM  Frasquita.  .  .  .  You  may  now  repeat  your 
demands!  You  may  now  ask  her  about  your 
honour ! " 

"  Mercedes,  for  the  love  of  heaven !  "  shouted 
the  Corregidor.  "  You  don't  realize  what  I  am 
capable  of!  Once  more  I  entreat  you  to  stop 
jesting  and  to  tell  me  what  happened  here  during 
my  absence !  Where  is  that  man  ?  ' 

"Who?  My  husband?  .  .  .  My  husband  is 
getting  up,  and  will  be  here  before  long." 

"  Getting  up!  "  ejaculated  Don  Eugenio. 
172 


>u 
of 


THE  LAW  OF  REPRISALS 

"  Are  you  surprised?  Why,  where  would  yo 
want  an  honourable  man  to  be  at  this  time 
night  if  not  in  his  house,  in  his  bed,  and  sleeping 
with  his  legitimate  consort  according  to  God's 
word?" 

"  Mercedes !  Look  what  you  are  saying !  Re- 
member that  people  are  listening  to  us !  Remem- 
ber that  I  am  the  Corregidor! ' 

"  Don't  scream  at  me  so,  Tio  Lucas^  or  I  shall 
have  the  alguacils  throw  you  into  jail!  •"  replied 
the  Corregidora,  rising  to  her  feet. 

"Me  in  jail?  Me!  The  Corregidor  of  the 
City ! " 

"The  Corregidor  of  the  City,  the  representa- 
tive of  Justice,  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  King," 
rejoined  the  great  lady  with  a  severity  and  an 
energy  that  drowned  the  voice  of  the  false  mil- 
ler, "  reached  his  house  at  the  proper  hour,  to 
rest  after  the  noble  tasks  of  his  office,  that  he 
might  continue  tomorrow  to  protect  the  honour 
and  lives  of  the  citizens,  the  sanctity  of  their 
homes,  and  the  modesty  of  their  women;  in  this 
way  preventing  any  one  from  entering  a  strange 
woman's  bedroom  disguised  as  a  Corregidor  or  as 

173 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

^^"^^^^^-^^^^^•-^^•^••^^^^•^^-^^ <^_ «• ^ •• «^H IM^ ^_ ^ ^— • B^M 

anything  else;  from  surprising  her  virtue  in  her 
peaceful  repose;  from  abusing  her  chaste 
sleep  — " 

"  Mercedes !  What  are  you  saying?  "  whistled 
the  Corregidor  between  his  gums  and  lips.  "  If 
that  is  what  really  happened  in  this  house,  I  say 
that  you  are  a  scoundrel,  a  perfidious  and  licen- 
tious woman !  • 

"  To  whom  is  this  man  speaking? ''  ejaculated 
the  Corregidora  disdainfully,  as  she  looked  at 
each  bystander  in  turn.  "  Who  is  this  madman? 
Who  is  this  inebriate?  I  can  no  longer  even 
believe  that  he  is  an  honest  miller  like  Tio  Lucas 
—  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  wears  his  rustic 
clothes.  Believe  me,  Senor  Juan  Lopez,"  she 
continued,  turning  to  the  terrified  country  al- 
calde ;  "  my  husband,  the  Corregidor  of  the  City, 
reached  this  his  house  two  hours  ago,  with  his 
three-cornered  hat,  his  scarlet  cloak,  his  knightly 
sword,  and  his  staff  of  office.  The  servants  and 
alguacils  who  are  now  listening  to  me,  got  up 
and  greeted  him  as  he  came  through  the  door; 
mounted  the  stairs,  and  went  into  the  reception 
room.  All  the  doors  were  immediately  closed, 
174 


THE  LAW  OF  REPRISALS 


and  since  then  no  one  has  entered  my  house  until 
you  came.  Isn't  that  true?  Answer  me  — 

"  It's  true !  Very  true !  "  answered  the  nurse, 
the  domestics,  and  the  bailiffs ;  all  of  whom  were 
present  at  the  singular  scene  grouped  about  the 
door  of  the  salon. 

"  Everybody  leave  this  room !  "  shouted  Don 
Eugenio,  foaming  with  rage.  "  Garduna !  Gar- 
duna! Come  and  seize  these  vile  creatures  who 
are  so  lacking  in  respect  for  me!  To  the  jail 
with  them  all !  To  the  gallows  with  them !  " 

Garduna  was  nowhere  in  evidence. 

"  Moreover,  Senor,"  continued  Dona  Mercedes, 
changing  her  tone  and  deigning  to  look  at  her 
husband  and  to  treat  him  as  such,  fearful  lest 
the  jest  might  reach  irremediable  extremes. 
"  Let  us  suppose  that  you  are  my  husband.  .  .  . 
Let  us  suppose  that  you  are  Don  Eugenio  de 
Zufiiga  y  Ponce  de  Le6n  - 

"  I  am !  " 

"Let  us  suppose,  moreover,  that  I  was  some- 
what to  blame  for  having  mistaken  the  man  who 
entered  my  bedroom  dressed  as  the  Corregidor 

for  you  — " 

175 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  Wretches !  "  shouted  the  old  man,  putting  his 
hand  to  his  sword,  but  encountering  only  space 
—  or  rather,  the  Murcian  miller's  sash. 

The  Navarrese  covered  her  face  with  a  corner 
of  her  shawl  to  hide  the  flames  of  her  jealousy. 

"  Let  us  suppose  anything  you  wish/'  contin- 
ued Do5a  Mercedes  with  an  inexplicable  impassi- 
bility. "  But  tell  me  now,  my  dear  sir :  Would 
you  have  any  right  to  complain?  Could  you 
accuse  me  as  a  public  prosecutor?  Could  you 
sentence  me  as  a  judge?  Did  you  just  come  from 
a  sermon?  Did  you  just  come  from  confession? 
Did  you  just  come  from  mass?  Or  where  did  you 
come  from  in  those  clothes?  Where  did  you 
come  from  with  that  woman?  Where  have  you 
spent  half  the  night?  "  | 

"  With  your  permission  — "  exclaimed  Send 
Frasquita,  jumping  to  her  feet  as  if  pushed  by  a 
spring,  and  interposing  herself  arrogantly  be- 
tween the  Corregidora  and  her  husband. 

The  latter,  who  was  about  to  speak,  stopped 
with  his  mouth  open  when  he  saw  that  the  Nav- 
arrese  had  entered  the  lists. 

But  Dona  Mercedes  forestalled  her  and  said: 
176 


THI   LAW  OF  REPRISALS 


"  Sefiora,  r  .ease  do  not  fatigue  yourself  by  ask- 
ing explanations  of  me.  I  am  by  no  means  ask- 
ing them  of  you !  Here  comes  some  one  who  has 
the  right  to  ask  them  of  you.  .  .  .  You  must 
reckon  with  him !  " 

^And  just  then  the  door  of  an  anteroom  opened, 
and  Tio  Lucas  appeared,  dressed  as  a  corregidor 
from  head  to  foot,  with  the  staff,  the  gloves,  and 
the  sword,  exactly  as  if  he  were  presenting  him- 
self before  the  Town  Council. 


177 


XXXII 

FAITH    MOVETH    MOUNTAINS 

VERY  good  evening  to  you  all,"  said 
the  recent  arrival,  removing  his  three- 
cornered  hat,  and  speaking  through 
tightly  drawn  lips  as  was  Don  Eugenio  de  Zuiii- 
ga's  habit. 

Then  he  walked  into  the  room,  swaying  in  all 
directions,  and  stooped  to  kiss  the  Corregidora's 
'     hand.  ] 

Everybody  was  dumbfounded.     The  likeness  of 
Tio  Lucas  to  the  real  Corregidor  was  marvelous. 
So  much  so,  that  the  servants,  and  even  Senor 
Juan   L6pez   himself   could   not   contain   their 
laughter. 

When  Don  Eugenio  heard  that  added  insult, 
he  threw  himself  upon  Tio  Lucas  like  a  basilisk. 
But  Send  Frasquita  interfered,  pushing  the 
178 


FAITH  MOVETH  MOUNTAINS 

Torregidor  aside  with  her  hereinbefore-described 
arm;  and  His  Worship,  to  avoid  another  tumble 
and  the  derision  that  would  be  sure  to  follow, 
allowed  himself  to  be  thrust  aside  without  saying 
a  word.  One  could  see  that  that  woman  was 
born  to  dominate  the  poor  old  man. 

Tio  Lucas  turned  paler  than  death  when  he  \ 
saw  his  wife  approach  him ;  but  he  was  soon  mas- 
ter of  himself,  and,  with  a  smile  so  horrible  that 
he  was  forced  to  press  his  hand  to  his  heart  to 
keep  it  from  breaking,  he  said,  still  imitating  the 
Corregidor : 

"God  keep  you,  Frasquita!  Have  you  sent 
your  nephew  his  appointment  yet? ' 

You  should  have  seen  the  Navarrese  then! 
She  threw  back  her  shawl,  lifted  her  head  with 
the  majesty  of  a  lioness,  and  fastening  her  two 
dagger-like  eyes  upon  the  false  Corregidor,  she 
said  with  her  face  close  to  his : 

"  I  despise  you,  Lucas ! ! ' 

Every  one  thought  she  had  spit  at  him. 

Such  a  gesture,  such  a  bearing,  and  such  a 
tone  of  voice  accentuated  the  phrase ! 

The  miller's  face  was  transfigured  when  he 

170 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

heard  his  wife's  voice.  A  sort  of  inspiration  like 
that  of  religious  faith  had  penetrated  his  soul, 
inundating  it  with  light  and  joy.  .  .  .  So,  for- 
getting for  a  moment  all  he  had  seen  and 
thought  he  had  seen  in  the  mill,  he  exclaimed 
with  tears  in  his  eyes  and  sincerity  upon  his  lips : 

"  Then  you  are  my  Frasquita?  " 

"  No ! '  replied  the  Navarrese,  beside  herself. 
"  I  am  not  your  Frasquita !  I  am  —  ask  your 
tonight's  doings,  and  they  will  tell  you  what  you 
have  done  to  the  heart  that  loved  you  so !  " 

And  like  a  mountain  of  ice  that  suddenly  melts 
into  fluid,  she  burst  into  tears. 

Unable  to  restrain  herself,  the  Corregidora 
went  up  to  her  and  with  the  utmost  tenderness 
put  her  arms  about  her. 

Then  Send  Frasquita  scarcely  realizing  what 
she  was  doing  began  to  kiss  her,  and  said  to  her 
between  her  sobs,  like  a  child  that  seeks  its 
mother's  protection : 

"  Seiiora,  Senora !     How  unhappy  I  am ! ' 

"  Not  as  much  as  you  think  you  are !  "  the  Cor- 
regidora answered,  also  weeping  copiously. 

"  I'm  the  unhappy  one !  "  groaned  Tio  Lucas  at 
180 


FAITH  MOVETH  MOUNTAINS 



same  time;  fighting  his  tears  with  his  fists 
as  if  ashamed  of  spilling  them. 

"Well,  what  about  me?"  interjected  Don 
Eugenio  at  last,  feeling  somewhat  softened  by  the 
contagious  weeping  of  the  others ;  or  else  hoping 
to  save  himself  also  by  the  humid  way  —  I  mean, 
by  the  way  of  tears.  "  Ah,  I  am  a  scoundrel !  A 
monster!  An  utter  rake,  who  has  got  his  just 
deserts !  " 

And  he  began  to  bellow  sadly,  throwing  his 
arms  about  the  belly  of  Sefior  Juan  L6pez. 

The  latter,  as  well  as  the  servants,  began  to 
weep  in  like  manner;  and  everything  seemed  to 
have  been  settled,  though  no  one  had  explained  a 
thing. 


181 


XXXIII 

WELL,   WHAT   ABOUT   YOU? 

TIG  LUCAS  was  the  first  to  come  to  the 
surface  in  that  sea  of  tears. 
He  was  beginning  to  remember  once 
more  what  he  had  seen  through  the  keyhole. 

"  Seii ores,  let  us  get  down  to  business !'  he 
said  suddenly. 

"  There  is  no  business  worth  getting  down  to, 
Tio  Lucas,''  exclaimed  the  Corregidora.  "  Your 
wrife  is  a  saint !  " 

"  I  know  —  but  — !  " 

"  There  is  no  but  about  it!  Let  her  talk,  and 
you'll  see  how  well  she  exculpates  herself.  The 
minute  I  sawr  her  my  heart  told  me  that  she  was 
a  saint ;  in  spite  of  everything  you  told  me  '  .  .  . 

"  Very  well ;  let  her  speak !  "  said  Tio  Lucas. 

"  I   won't  speak ! '    replied  the  miller's  wife. 
"  You  are  the  one  to  do  the  talking !     For  the 
truth  is,  you  — ' 
182 


WELL,  WHAT  ABOUT  YOU? 


And  Sena  Frasquita  said  no  more;  the  invin- 
cible respect  she  had  for  the  Corregidora  pre- 
vented her. 

"  Well,  what  about  you?  "  rejoined  Tio  Lucas, 
again  losing  his  faith  in  her. 

"  This  affair  does  not  concern  her  at  pres- 
ent," shouted  the  Corregidor,  also  returning  to 
his  jealousy.  "It  concerns  you  and  this  lady! 
Ah,  Merceditas!  Who  would  have  said  that 
you  —  ?  " 

"  Well,  what  about  you?  "  replied  the  CorregifS 
dora,  halving  him  with  a  look. 

And  for  several  moments  the  couples  repeated 
the  same  phrases  a  hundred  times  : 

"  What  about  you?  "  ^ 

"  Well,  what  about  you?  " 

"  You  are  the  one  !  ' 

«  No,  you  !  " 

"  But,  how  could  you?  "... 

Etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

The  thing  would  have  been  interminable  if  the 
Corregidora,  once  more  clothing  herself  with 
dignity,  had  not  finally  said  to  Don  Eugenio  : 

"  See  here;  you  be  still  for  a  while!    We  shall 

183 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

ventilate  our  own  affair  later.  The  important 
thing  now  is  to  restore  peace  to  Tio  Lucas'  heart : 
a  very  easy  matter  in  my  judgment;  for  I  can  see 
Senor  Juan  Lopez  and  Touuelo,  who  will  jump 
at  the  chance  of  exculpating  Sena  Frasquita." 

"  I  don't  need  any  men  to  clear  me!  "  the  latter 
replied.  "  I  have  two  witnesses  of  better  stand- 
ing, of  whom  it  will  not  be  said  that  I  tempted  or 
bribed  them." 

"  Where  are  they?  "  asked  the  miller. 

"  Downstairs  at  the  door." 

"  Well,  tell  them  to  come  up." 

"  The  poor  dears  can't  come  up." 

"Ah!  They  are  two  women!  That's  a  fine 
kind  of  testimony  for  you ! ' 

"  They  are  not  two  women,  either :  —  just  two 
females." 

"Worse  and  more  of  it!  Two  girls! 
Kindly  tell  me  their  names." 

"  One  is  called  Pihona,  and  the  other  Liviana." 

"  Our  two  burras !  Frasquita :  are  you  making 
fun  of  me?" 

"No;  I  am  speaking  very  seriously.  I  can 
prove  to  you  by  the  testimony  of  our  burras  that 
184 


0 


WELL,  WHAT  ABOUT  YOU? 


I  was  not  at  the  mill  when  you  saw  the  Sefior 
Corregidor  there." 

"  For  heaven's  sake  explain  yourself  !  " 

"Listen,  Lucas  —  and  die  of  shame  for  ever 
having  doubted  my  honour  !  Tonight  when  you 
were  on  the  way  from  the  Village  to  our  house, 
I  was  going  from  our  house  to  the  Village  ;  and, 
consequently,  we  passed  each  other  on  the  road. 
But  you  were  travelling  outside  of  it,  or  rather, 
you  had  stopped  to  strike  a  light  in  the  middle  of 
a  field." 

"  That's  true  —  I  did  stop  !     Go  on  !  " 

"  Then  your  burra  brayed  —  " 

"Just  so!  Ah,  how  happy  I  am!  Speak, 
speak  ;  every  word  you  say  gives  me  back  a  year 
of  life  !  " 

"  And  another  bray  answered  from  the  road." 

• 


"  Oh  !    Yes  —  yes  !     Bless  you  !     I  can  hear  it 


now!" 

"  It  was  Liviana  and  Pinona  who  had  recog- 
nized each  other  and  greeted  each  other  like  two 
good  friends,  while  we  did  neither  —  " 

"  Say  no  more  !  —  Say  no  more  !  " 

"  We  not  only  did  not  recognize  each  other," 

185 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

continued  Sena  Frasquita,  "  but  we  were  afraid 
of  each  other,  and  fled  in  different  directions. 
.  .  ,  So  now  you  see  that  I  wasn't  in  the  mill! 
Now,  if  you  want  to  know  why  you  found  the 
Sefior  Corregidor  in  our  bed,  feel  of  the  clothes 
you  have  on  and  you  will  find  that  they  are  still 
damp.  They  will  tell  you  better  than  I.  His 
Worship  fell  into  the  mill  race,  and  Graduna  un- 
dressed him  and  put  him  to  bed  there!  If  you 
want  to  know  why  I  opened  the  door  —  it  was 
because  I  thought  it  was  you  who  were  drowning 
and  calling  to  me.  And  lastly,  if  you  want  to 
know  about  that  appointment  —  But  that  is  all 
I  have  to  say  for  the  present.  When  we  are 
alone,  I'll  tell  you  all  about  that  and  other  par- 
ticulars —  which  I  ought  not  to  mention  before 
the  Senora." 

"  Everything  Sena  Frasquita  says  is  the  pure 
truth ! "  cried  Senor  Juan  Lopez,  desirous  of  in- 
gratiating himself  with  Dofia  Mercedes,  seeing 
that  she  was  the  ruler  of  the  Official  Residence. 

"Everything!  Everything!"  added  Tonuelo, 
following  his  master's  example. 

"  So  far,  everything !  "  agreed  the  Corregidor, 
186 


WELL,  WHAT  ABOUT  YOU? 


very  pleased  that  the  explanations  of  the  Navar- 
rese  had  gone  no  further. 

"  Then  you  are  innocent ! "  exclaimed  Tio 
Lucas,  surrendering  to  the  evidence.  "  My  Fras- 
quita,  my  dear  Frasquita !  Forgive  my  injustice, 
and  let  me  embrace  you ! ' 

"  That  is  flour  from  another  sack,"  replied  the 
miller's  wife,  slipping  aside.  "  Before  you  em- 
brace me,  I  must  hear  your  explanations." 

"  I  shall  explain  for  him  and  for  me,"  said 
DoSa  Mercedes. 

"  I've  been  waiting  an  hour  for  it!  "  offered  the 
Corregidor,  attempting  to  stand  erect. 

"  But  I  shall  not  do  so,"  continued  the  Cor- 
regidora,  turning  her  back  disdainfully  upon  her 
husband,  "  until  these  gentlemen  have  changed 
clothes  —  and  even  then,  only  to  the  one  who  de- 
serves to  hear  it." 

"  Come,  let  us  change,"  said  the  Murcian  to 
Don  Eugenio,  very  glad  that  he  had  not  assassi- 
nated him,  but  still  looking  upon  him  with  a  hate 
that  was  truly  Moorish.  "Your  Worship's 
clothes  are  choking  me!  T  have  been  most  un- 
happy while  I  have  had  them  on ! ' 

187 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

"  Because  you  do  not  understand  them !  v  re- 
sponded the  Corregidor.  "  On  the  other  hand,  I 
am  anxious  to  put  them  on  in  order  to  hang  you 
and  everybody  else  if  my  wife's  explanations  do 
not  satisfy  me ! " 

The  Corregidora,  when  she  heard  these  words, 
calmed  the  assembly  with  a  gentle  smile  —  pe- 
culiar to  those  hard-working  angels  whose  mis* 
sion  it  is  to  watch  over  men. 


188 


XXXIV 

THE  CORREGIDOR'S  WIFE  is  PRETTY  TOO! 

WHEN  the  Corregidor  and  Tio  Lucas 
had  departed  from  the  salon,  the 
Corregidora  again  sat  down  upon 
the  sofa.     She  drew  Sen&  Frasquita  to  her  side, 
and  turning  to  the  domestics  and  bailiffs  who 
were  obstructing  the  doorway,  said  to  them  with 
kindly  simplicity :  • 

"  Now,  my  lads !  Tell  this  excellent  woman  all 
the  evil  you  know  of  me/' 

The  fourth  estate  advanced,  and  ten  voices  at- 
tempted to  speak  at  once;  but  the  nurse,  being 
the  person  who  had  the  highest  standing  in  the 
house,  imposed  silence  upon  the  rest  and  spoke  as 
follows: 

"  You  must  know,  Sen&  Frasquita,  that  the 
Senora  and  I  were  taking  care  of  the  children 

189 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

this  evening,  waiting  for  the  master  to  return, 
and  counting  the  third  Rosary  to  pass  the  time 
(for  the  reason  brought  by  Garduna  was  that 
the  Senor  Corregidor  was  out  after  some  very  ter- 
rible criminals,  and  we  couldn't  go  to  bed  until 
we  saw  him  safely  home),  when  we  heard  some- 
body in  the  next  room,  which  is  where  my  master 
and  mistress  sleep.  We  took  the  light,  dead  with 
fear,  and  went  to  see  who  it  was  that  was  walk- 
ing about  in  the  bedroom ;  when,  Holy  Virgin !  as 
we  entered,  we  saw  a  man  dressed  like  the  Senor, 
but  who  wasn't  he  (because  he  was  your  hus- 
band!), trying  to  hide  himself  under  the  bed. 
'  Thieves ! '  we  began  to  shout  wildly ;  and  a  min- 
ute later  the  room  was  full  of  people,  and  the 
alguacils  wrere  dragging  the  false  Corregidor 
from  his  hiding  place.  The  Senora,  who  like 
everybody  else,  had  recognized  Tio  Lucas,  when 
she  saw  him  in  that  costume,  feared  that  he  had 
killed  the  master,  and  began  to  wail  loud  enough 
to  break  the  stones. —  '  To  jail  with  him !  To 
jail  with  him ! '  the  rest  of  us  were  shouting 
meanwhile.  '  Thief!  Murderer !' were  the  best 
words  Tio  Lucas  heard ;  and  there  he  was  propped 
190 


CORREGIDOR'S  WIFE  IS  PRETTY  TOO! 

up  against  the  wall  like  a  dead  man  without  say- 
ing a  word.  But  when  he  saw  that  they  were  go- 
ing to  take  him  to  prison,  he  said  —  what  I  am  go- 
ing to  repeat,  though  it  would  be  really  better  to 
keep  still  about  it:  <  SeSora,  I  am  neither  a 
thief  nor  a  murderer:  the  thief  and  murderer  — 
of  my  honour,  is  in  my  house  in  bed  with  my 
wife/  " 

"  Poor  Lucas !  "  sighed  Sena  Frasquita. 

"  Poor  me ! '  murmured  the  Corregidora 
calmly. 

"  That's  what  we  all  said  —  <  Poor  Tio  Lucas, 
and  poor  Senora ! '  Because  —  the  truth  is, 
Sena  Frasquita,  we  already  had  an  idea  that  the 
Sefior  had  his  eyes  on  you,  and  although  nobody 
imagined  that  you  — " 

"  Nurse!  "  exclaimed  the  Corregidora  severely, 
"  Don't  go  on  like  that !  " 

"  I'll  go  on  differently,"  said  an  alguacil,  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  juncture  to  possess  himself 
of  the  floor.  "  Tio  Lucas  (who  fooled  us  wonder- 
fully with  his  clothes  and  the  way  he  walked 
when  he  came  in  —  so  much  so  that  we  all  took 
him  for  the  Sefior  Corregidor)  did  not  come  with 

191 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

very  good  intentions,  as  you  might  say,  and  if  the 
Seiiora  Corregidora  had  not  been  up  —  you  can 
imagine  what  might  have  happened  — " 

"  Come !  You  keep  still  too !  "  interrupted  the 
cook.  "  You're  only  talking  nonsense !  Why 
yes,  Sena  Frasquita :  in  order  to  explain  his  pres- 
ence in  my  mistress'  bedroom,  Tio  Lucas  had  to 
confess  his  intentions.  Of  course  the  Senora 
could  not  contain  herself  when  she  heard  him,  but 
handed  him  such  a  blow  on  the  mouth  that  half 
his  words  stayed  in  his  body !  I  myself  filled  him 
with  insults  and  abuse,  and  tried  to  scratch  his 
eyes  out.  .  .  .  Because  you  know,  Sefia  Fras- 
quita, even  if  he  is  your  husband,  this  business  of 
coming  here  with  evil  intentions — " 

"  You  are  a  chatter  box!  "  shouted  the  porter, 
placing  himself  in  front  of  the  pratrix.  "  What 
more  could  you  want?  Just  you  listen  to  me, 
Seila  Frasquita  and  we'll  come  to  the  point.  The 
Senora  did  and  said  exactly  what  she  should ;  but 
after  a  little,  when  her  anger  calmed  down,  she 
took  pity  on  Tio  Lucas,  and  thought  over  the 
Corregidor's  evil  doings.  Then  she  said  some- 
thing like  this :  '  As  outrageous  as  your  thought 
192 


CORREGIDOR'S  WIFE  IS  PRETTY  TOO! 

was,  Tio  Lucas,  and  though  I  shall  never  be  able 
to  forgive  such  insolence,  it  is  necessary  that  your 
wife  and  my  husband  believe  for  some  hours  that 
they  have  been  caught  in  their  own  net,  and  that 
you,  with  the  help  of  that  disguise,  have  returned 
them  insult  for  insult.  We  can  take  no  better 
vengeance  upon  them  than  this  deception,  which 
will  be  so  easy  to  dispel  when  it  is  convenient 
for  us  to  do  so ! '  Having  adopted  such  a  clever 
resolution,  the  Sefiora  and  Tio  Lucas  instructed 
us  all  in  what  we  were  to  do  and  say  when  His 
Worship  returned;  and  I  certainly  gave  Sebas- 
tian Garduua  such  a  blow  on  the  rump  with  my 
stick,  that  I  don't  think  he  will  ever  forget  the 
night  of  St.  Simon  and  St.  Judas! ' 

When  the  porter  had  ceased  talking,  the  Cor- 
regidora  and  the  miller's  wife  whispered  into 
each  other's  ears  for  a  long  time;  embracing  and 
kissing  each  other  every  minute,  and,  at  times, 
oven  unable  to  restrain  their  laughter. 

It  is  too  bad  that  one  could  not  hear  what  they 
said!  .  .  .  But  the  reader  can  imagine  it  with- 
out any  great  effort ;  and  if  the  reader  cannot  - 
his  wife  can ! 

193 


XXXV 

AN   IMPERIAL   DECREE 

AT  that  moment,  the  Corregidor  and  Tio 
Lucas  returned  to  the  salon,  each 
dressed  in  his  own  clothes. 

"  Now  it's  my  turn ! '  the  distinguished  Don 
Eugenio  de  Zuniga  remarked  as  he  entered. 

And,  after  striking  the  floor  with  his  staff  a 
couple  of  times,  as  though  to  recover  his  strength 
(like  an  official  Antaeus  who  did  not  feel  strong 
until  his  bamboo  cane  touched  the  earth ) ,  he  said 
to  the  Corregidora  with  indescribable  emphasis 
and  coolness : 

"  Merceditas  —  I  am  awaiting  your  explana- 
tions ! ' 

Meanwhile,  the  miller's  wife  had  arisen  and 
given  to  Tio  Lucas  a  peace-pinch  that  made  him 
see  stars;  at  the  same  time  gazing  at  him  with 
appeased  and  bewitching  eyes. 
194 


«A  5>*^      l>  ^      P 

"  AN  IMPERIAL  DECREE    X 

The  Corregidor,  who  observed  that  pantomime, 
stood  stock  still,  unable  to  explain  such  an  in- 
comprehensible reconciliation. 

Then  he  turned  to  his  wife  and  said  sourly : 

"  Senora !  Everybody  understands  each  other 
but  us !  Deliver  me  from  my  doubts  —  I  demand 
it  of  you  as  your  husband  and  as  the  Cor- 
regidor ! ' 

"  Oh,  must  you  be  going?  "  exclaimed  Dona 
Mercedes,  approaching  Sena  Frasquita,  and  pay- 
ing no  attention  to  Don  Eugenio.  "  Well,  don't 
worry;  this  scandal  will  have  no  consequences. 
Rosa!  Bring  a  light  for  these  people;  they  say 
they  are  going.  Go  you  with  God,  Tio  Lucas." 

"  Oh,  no ! '  shouted  de  Zuniga,  obstructing 
their  passage.  "  Tio  Lucas  is  not  going !  Tio 
Lucas  will  remain  under  arrest  until  I  know  the 
whole  truth!  Here,  alguacils!  In  the  name  of 
the  King !  "— 

Not  a  single  bailiff  obeyed  Don  Eugenio. 
They  all  looked  at  the  Corregidora. 

"  Here,  my  man !  Let  them  pass ! '  she  con- 
tinued, almost  walking  over  her  husband,  and 
dismissing  every  one  with  the  utmost  finesse :  that 

195 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

is  to  say,  with  her  head  to  one  side,  her  dress 
caught  up  by  the  tips  of  her  fingers,  and  bowing 
gracefully  until  she  had  completed  the  curtsy 
then  in  favour,  which  was  called  the  peacock's 
tail. 

"  But  I  —  but  you  —  but  we  -  -  but  they  "  —  the 
old  man  mumbled  on,  pulling  his  wife  by  the  skirt 
and  disturbing  the  curtsies  she  had  begun  so  well. 

Useless  effort!  No  one  paid  the  slightest  at- 
tention to  His  Worship  ! 

When  all  had  departed,  and  the  discordant  con- 
jugal pair  were  alone  in  the  salon,  the  Corregi 
dora  at  last  deigned  to  say  to  her  spouse,  in  ac- 
cents that  a  Czarina  of  all  the  Russias  might  have 
employed  when  thundering  at  a  fallen  minister 
the  order  of  perpetual  exile  to  Siberia  : 

"If  you  live  for  a  thousand  years,  you  will 
I  never  know  what  happened  in  my  bedroom  to- 
night ...  If  you  had  been  there,  as  you  should, 
you  would  have  had  no  necessity  of  asking  any 
one.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  there  is  and 
never  shall  be  any  reason  for  satisfying  you;  I 
despise  you  so  much,  that  if  you  weren't  the 
father  of  my  children,  I  would  throw  you  forth- 
196 


AN  IMPERIAL  DECREE 


with  from  that  window,  as  I  throw  you  forever 
from  my  bedroom.  So,  sir,  good  night." 

When  she  had  spoken  these  words,  which  Don 
Eugenio  listened  to  without  flickering  an  eyelash 
(as  he  dared  say  nothing  when  he  was  alone  with 
his  wife),  the  Corregidora  went  into  the  ante- 
room, and  from  the  anteroom  passed  into  the  bed- 
room, shutting  the  door  behind  her.  The  poor 
man  stayed  behind  in  the  middle  of  the  salon, 
murmuring  between  his  gums  (for  he  had  no 
teeth),  with  a  cynicism  that  will  never  be 
matched : 

"  Well,  I  didn't  expect  to  get  out  of  it  so  eas- 
ily!  -  -  Gardufia  will  find  another  one  for  me !  ¥ 


I 
\ 


XXXVI 

CONCLUSION,    MORAL,   AND   EPILOGUE 

THE  birds  were  chirping  their  greeting  to 
the  dawn  when  Tio  Lucas  and  Sena  Fras- 
quita  set  out  from  the  City  in  the  direc- 
tion of  their  mill. 

Husband  and  wife  went  on  foot,  while  ahead  of 
them,  hitched  together,  walked  the  two  burras. 

"  You  must  go  to  confession  Sunday,"  the  mil- 
ler's wife  was  saying  to  her  husband.  "  You 
must  cleanse  yourself  of  all  last  night's  evil 
thoughts  and  criminal  intentions." 

"  That's  a  good  idea ! "  answered  the  miller. 
"  But  you  must  do  me  a  favour  too :  and  that  is 
to  give  our  bedclothes  to  the  poor  and  replace 
them  with  new  ones.  I  refuse  to  sleep  where  that 
poisonous  beast  has  perspired !  " 

"Don't  speak  of  him,  Lucas!"  replied  Sefi£! 
198 


CONCLUSION,  MORAL,  AND  EPILOGUE 

Frasquita.  "Let's  talk  about  something  else. 
I'd  like  to  ask  another  favour  of  you." 

"  Ask  away ! ' 

"  Next  summer  you  must  take  me  to  the  baths 
at  Solan  de  Cabras." 

"  What  for?  " 

"  To  see  if  we  can't 


,^^___ __•  mf    — 

"Fine  idea!  I'll  take  you,  if  God  gives  us 
life." 

And  with  this  they  reached  the  mill,  just  as  the 
sun,  which  was  still  below  the  horizon,  was  gild- 
ing the  tops  of  the  mountains. 

•  •••••• 

That  afternoon,  much  to  the  surprise  of  the 
miller  and  his  wife,  who  did  not  expect  any  more 
calls  from  high  personages  after  such  a  scandal 
as  that  of  the  preceding  night,  more  of  the  aris- 
tocracy than  ever  assembled  at  the  mill.  The 
venerable  Prelate,  many  canons,  the  lawyer,  two 
priors,  and  various  other  persons  (whom,  as  it 
turned  out  afterward,  His  Reverend  Lordship 
had  summoned  to  meet  there)  nearly  filled  the 
little  paved  courtyard  under  the  grape  arbour. 

Only  the  Corregidor  was  missing. 

199 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

When  all  the  coterie  had  gathered,  the  Sefior 
Bishop  took  the  floor  and  said  that,  just  because 
certain  things  had  occurred  in  that  house,  his 
canons  and  he  would  continue  to  come  there  as 
they  had  in  the  past ;  in  order  that  neither  the 
honest  miller  and  his  wife,  nor  other  persons 
there  present  should  participate  in  public  cen- 
sure, which  was  only  merited  by  him  who  had 
profaned  by  his  base  conduct  a  gathering  so  tem- 
perate in  its  behaviour  and  so  proper.  He  pa- 
ternally exhorted  Sena  Frasquita  to  be  less  pro- 
vocative and  tempting  in  the  future  as  to  her 
remarks  and  bearing,  and  to  try  to  keep  her  arms 
more  covered,  and  to  have  her  waist  cut  a  bit 
higher.  He  advised  Tio  Lucas  to  acquire  more 
disinterestedness,  greater  circumspection,  and 
less  forwardness  in  dealing  with  his  superiors; 
and  he  ended  by  blessing  everybody  and  saying 
that  as  he  was  not  fasting  on  that  day,  he  would 
take  great  pleasure  in  eating  a  couple  of  bunches 
of  grapes. 

•  •••••• 

These  delicious  gatherings  continued  for  nearly 
three  years  until,  contrary  to  the  expectation  of 
200 


I 

CONCLUSION,  MORAL,  AND  EPILOGUE 

everybody,  Napoleon's  armies  entered  Spain,  and 
the  War  of  Independence  broke  out. 

The  Senor  Bishop,  the  Magistral,  and  the  Peni- 
tentiary died  in  the  year  '08 ;  and  the  lawyer  and 
the  other  members  of  the  coterie  in  '09,  '10, 
'11,  and  '12,  because  they  were  unable  to  bear 
the  sight  of  the  Frenchmen,  the  Polos,  and 
other  scum  who  invaded  their  country;  and 
who  smoked  pipes  in  the  presbyteries  of  the 
churches  while  mass  was  being  said  for  the 

troops ! 

The  Corregidor,  who  never  went  back  to  the 
mill,  was  removed  from  office  by  a  French 
marshal,  and  died  in  the  Court  Prison  because 
he  had  positively  refused  ( may  it  be  said  in  his 
honour)  to  compromise  for  a  single  instant  with 

foreign  rule. 

Dona  Mercedes  did  not  remarry,  but  brought 

i    up  her  children  perfectly,  retiring  in  her  old  age 

to  a  convent  where  she  ended  her  days  in  saintly 

reputation. 

Garduna  became  thoroughly  gallicized. 

Senor  Juan  L6pez  became  a  guerrilla,  com- 
manded a  band  and  died,  as  did  his  alguacil,  in 

201 


THE  THREE-CORNERED  HAT 

the  famous  battle  of  Baza,  after  having  slain 
many  Frenchmen. 

Finally:  Tio  Lucas  and  Sena  Frasquita  (al- 
though they  never  had  any  children,  in  spite  of 
having  gone  to  Solan  de  Cabras,  and  of  having 
made  many  vows  and  said  many  prayers)  con- 
tinued to  love  each  other  in  their  own  way  until 
they  reached  a  very  advanced  age.  They  saw  Ab- 
solutism disappear  in  1812  and  1820,  to  reappear 
in  1814  and  1823 ;  until  at  last  the  Constitutional 
system  became  really  established  at  the  death  of 
the  Absolute  King;  and  they  passed  to  a  better 
life  (just  as  the  Seven  Years  Civil  War,  broke 
out), —  nor  could  the  top-hats  that  everybody 
was  already  beginning  to  wear  make  them  forget 
the  days  that  were  symbolized  by  the  three-cor- 
nered hat. 


202 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

FEW  Spaniards,  even  taking  into  consid- 
eration the  least  learned  and  literate, 
will  fail  to  recognize  the  little  popular 
story  that  serves  as  a  foundation  for  the  present 
short  work. 

An  ignorant  goatherd  who  had  never  left  the 
confines  of  the  remote  hamlet  where  he  was  born, 
was  the  first  person  we  heard  relate  it.  He  was 
one  of  those  rustics,  absolutely  illiterate,  but  nat- 
urally clever  and  witty,  who  take  such  a  promi- 
nent part  in  our  national  literature  under  the 
name  of  picaros  (rogues).  Whenever  there  was 
a  holiday  in  the  little  hamlet,  either  on  account 
of  a  wedding,  or  a  baptism,  or  a  solemn  visit  from 
the  proprietors,  it  was  up  to  him  to  organize 
pranks  and  pantomimes,  to  perform  all  sorts  of 
clownish  tricks,  and  to  recite  ballads  and  tell 
stories ;  —  and  it  was  upon  just  such  an  occasion 
(nearly  a  whole  lifetime  ago  -  -  that  is,  more  than 

203 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 


thirty-five  years  ago),  that  he  was  kind  enough  to 
dazzle  and  enchant  our  innocence  (relative)  one 
night  with  the  story  in  verse  of  The  Corregidor 
and  the  Miller's  Wife,1  or,  if  you  will,  The  Miller 
and  the  Corregidor1  s  Wife,  which  we  now  offer 
to  the  public  under  the  more  transcendental  and 
philosophical  title  (since  the  gravity  of  these 
times  requires  it  thus)  of  The  Three-Cornered 
Eat. 

I  remember  perfectly  that  when  the  goatherd 
was  entertaining  us  so  nicely,  the  young  unmar- 
ried women  there  assembled  turned  very  red; 
from  which  their  mothers  concluded  that  the 
story  was  somewhat  raw-  -and  thereupon 
started  to  give  the  goatherd  a  good  raking  over 
the  coals.  But  poor  Repel  a  (as  the  goatherd  was 
called)  was  nothing  daunted,  and  replied  that 
there  was  no  reason  for  getting  so  upset  about  it, 
as  there  wras  nothing  in  his  story  that  even  nuns 
and  four-year-old  girls  did  not  know  .  .  . 

"And  if  you  don't  think  so,"  said  he,  "just 
let's  see  exactly  what  we  learn  from  the  story  of 

i  Corregidor:  A  magistrate-mayor  of  small  Spanish  towns, 
who  derived  his  power  direct  from  the  king. 

204 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 


The  Corregidor  and  the  Miller's  Wife:  That 
married  couples  sleep  together,  and  that  no  hus- 
band likes  to  have  another  man  sleep  with  his 
wife !  It  strikes  me  that  that  information  — !  " 

"  Well,  true  enough !  "  responded  the  mothers 
as  they  listened  to  their  daughters'  laughter. 

"The  proof  that  Tio  Repela  is  right,"  the 
groom's  father  observed  at  this  point,  "  lies  in  the 
fact  that  everybody  here  present,  big  and  little, 
is  aware  that  just  as  soon  as  the  dance  is  over 
tonight,  Juanete  and  Manolilla  are  going  to  in- 
augurate the  beautiful  matrimonial  bed  which 
Tia  Gabriela  has  just  shown  to  our  daughters 
that  they  might  admire  the  embroidery  on  the 

pillows  .  .  ." 

"  There  are  other  proofs !  "  claimed  the  bride's 
grandfather.  "Even  in  the  Book  of  Wisdom, 
and  in  the  very  Sermons  themselves,  they  men- 
tion all  these  natural  things  to  children  when 
they  inform  them  of  the  long  sterility  of  Our 
Lady  St.  Anne,  the  virtue  of  the  chaste  Joseph, 
the  stratagem  of  Judith,  and  many  other  miracles 
that  I  don't  remember  just  now.—  Therefore, 

Sefiores  — " 

205 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 


"  Go  on,  Tio  Repela !  "  exclaimed  the  girls  cour- 
ageously. "  Do  tell  us  jour  story  again ;  it's 
awfully  funny ! " 

"  And  even  very  decent !  "  continued  the  grand- 
father. "  Because  nobody  is  either  advised  or 
taught  to  be  wicked  in  it ;  nor  is  he  who  is  wicked 
allowed  to  go  unpunished  .  .  ." 

"  Go  on !  Tell  it  again !  "  the  mothers  of  fam- 
ilies at  last  said  consistorially. 

Tio  Repela  again  recited  the  ballad,  and,  its 
text  examined  by  all  in  the  light  of  that  ingen- 
uous critique,  they  found  that  there  was  no  but 
connected  with  it  —  which  is  equivalent  to  saying 
that  they  conceded  him  the  necessary  licenses. 


With  the  passage  of  years,  we  have  heard  many 
and  diverse  versions  of  that  same  story  of  The 
Miller  and  the  Corregidor's  Wife  —  always  from 
the  lips  of  the  graciosos  (clowns)  of  the  farms 
and  hamlets  of  the  same  species  as  the  now  de- 
funct Repela.  Then,  too,  we  have  read  it  in  print 
in  different  Romances  de  ciego,1  and  even  in  the 

2  Ballads  and  songs  printed  on  single  sheets  of  paper. 
206 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 


famous  Collection  of  Ballads  by  the  unforgetable 
Don  Agustin  Duran. 

The  basis  of  the  matter  is  always  the  same: 
tragi-comic,  waggish,  and  terribly  epigrammatic 
like  all  those  dramatic  lessons  with  a  moral  of 
which  our  people  are  so  enamoured ;  but  the  form, 
the  incidental  mechanism,  the  chance  happen- 
ings, differ  very  much  indeed  from  those  in  our 
goatherd's  tale  —  so  much  so,  that  he  would  not 
have  been  able  to  recite  any  of  the  said  versions  in 
his  hamlet  -  -  not  even  the  printed  ones  -  -  with- 
out the  decorous  maidens  first  stopping  up  their 
ears,  and  without  exposing  himself  to  the  danger 
of  having  his  eyes  scratched  out  by  their  mothers. 
To  such  an  extent  have  the  coarse  rustics  of  other 
provinces  overdone  and  perverted  the  traditional 
event  which  became  so  delicious  and  discreet  and 
beautiful  in  the  version  of  the  classic  Repela! 

A  long  time  ago,  then,  we  conceived  the  idea  of 
re-establishing  the  truth  of  the  matter,  of  return- 
ing to  the  strange  story  in  question  its  pristine 
character,  which  we  have  never  doubted  was  that 
wherein  the  decorum  was  best  preserved.  And 
how  can  we  doubt  it?  Tales  of  this  kind,  as  they 

207 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 


pass  from  hand  to  hand  among  the  common  peo- 
ple, never  change  their  character  by  becoming 
prettier,  more  delicate,  and  more  decent,  but 
rather  by  becoming  disfigured  and  tarnished  by 
the  contact  with  coarseness  and  vulgarity. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  present  book  .  .  . 
So  then  let  us  set  to  work  —  I  mean,  let  us  com- 
mence the  narrative  of  The  Corregidor  and  the 
Miller's  Wife,  not  without  expecting  of  your 
healthy  common  sense  (oh  respectable  public) 
that  "  after  having  read  it  and  crossed  yourselves 
more  times  than  if  you  had  caught  sight  of  the 
devil  (as  Estebanillo  Gonzales  said  at  the  begin- 
ning of  his  story) ,  you  will  hold  it  deserving  and 
worth  the  telling." 


208 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


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